When temporary floodwater flows out of a mountain pass in an arid or semi-arid region, the debris it carries is deposited to form a fan-shaped landscape that is called a proluvial fan landscape. Usually, there is no water in the river channels in the valleys in arid and semi-arid areas. The channel bed and valley sides accumulate debris that is eroded from the hills. During the onset of flash floods in the rainy season, the water in the valley rises and transports abundant debris downstreams. When the debris-laden flow reaches the mountain pass, where the gradient is gentle, its transportation capacity decreases drastically, so it deposits large amounts of gravel, sand and mud to form a depositional proluvial fan that extends from the hills to the plain (Fig. 28).
Diagram of a proluvial fan
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this entry
Cite this entry
(2020). Proluvial Fan Landscape. In: Chen, A., Ng, Y., Zhang, E., Tian, M. (eds) Dictionary of Geotourism. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_1945
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2538-0_1945
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-2537-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-2538-0
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences