An alluvial valley is a gently sloping plain consisting of alluvium. It is normally delimited by uplands on either side that rise above the level of the valley to varying heights. More specifically, the alluvial valley of a given stream is that portion of its alluvial plain upstream from its deltaic plain. An alluvial valley is considered to be a more or less balanced system. Sediment supplied to it from the surrounding upland and its tributary alluvial valleys is gradually traded downstream until it is eventually deposited in the deltaic plain. Typically, there is neither net accumulation nor net removal of sediment from the alluvial valley. The volume of material deposited within the valley tends to about equal the amount of material removed from it and carried to the delta.
Alluvial valleys vary widely in width, and the thickness of alluvium within a given valley ranges from the depth of maximum scour during floods to many times the depth of scour. Regional subsidence, changes in...
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Herschy, R.W. et al. (1998). Alluvial valley engineering . In: Herschy, R.W., Fairbridge, R.W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Hydrology and Water Resources. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4497-7_13
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