Illustration of alluvial fan
alluvial fan
noun
: the alluvial deposit of a stream where it issues from a gorge upon a plain or of a tributary stream at its junction with the main stream
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web According to the California Department of Water Resources, the state experiences many types of flooding, including alluvial fan, riverine, coastal, flash, and localized floods, as well as debris flows and tsunamis. 
Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Three years in the making, Xigera Safari Lodge is located at the very center of this alluvial fan, on the western edge of the Moremi Game Reserve. Jane Broughton, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 May 2021 The upper, hillside section of the vineyard, formed on a well-draining alluvial fan, is the fire element, producing harder, more intense wines. Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 21 Nov. 2019 Although the shaking was less intense, Trona’s location on soft sediments that have eroded off a mountainside — known as an alluvial fan — caused the ground to act like quicksand, O’Dell said. Rong-gong Lin Ii, latimes.com, 10 July 2019 Yet the planet's rusty rocks record a past flush with water; deep valleys carve through a landscape speckled with dry lake beds, alluvial fans, and smooth river pebbles. National Geographic, 27 Mar. 2019 From mid-February to mid-April, the bloom can best be seen at lower elevations on alluvial fans and foothills. Diana Bruk, Country Living, 17 Feb. 2016 Of greater concern is the placement of houses and other structures on the alluvial fans where streams have been depositing sediment and rapidly changing their course over many thousands of years. Lee Macdonald, Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2018 See More
Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2022 Three years in the making, Xigera Safari Lodge is located at the very center of this alluvial fan, on the western edge of the Moremi Game Reserve. Jane Broughton, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 May 2021 The upper, hillside section of the vineyard, formed on a well-draining alluvial fan, is the fire element, producing harder, more intense wines. Esther Mobley, SFChronicle.com, 21 Nov. 2019 Although the shaking was less intense, Trona’s location on soft sediments that have eroded off a mountainside — known as an alluvial fan — caused the ground to act like quicksand, O’Dell said. Rong-gong Lin Ii, latimes.com, 10 July 2019 Yet the planet's rusty rocks record a past flush with water; deep valleys carve through a landscape speckled with dry lake beds, alluvial fans, and smooth river pebbles. National Geographic, 27 Mar. 2019 From mid-February to mid-April, the bloom can best be seen at lower elevations on alluvial fans and foothills. Diana Bruk, Country Living, 17 Feb. 2016 Of greater concern is the placement of houses and other structures on the alluvial fans where streams have been depositing sediment and rapidly changing their course over many thousands of years. Lee Macdonald, Washington Post, 20 Jan. 2018 See More Word History
First Known Use
1862, in the meaning defined above