What outcome develops where mountain river flow enters unconfined floodplain terrain?

💡 Explanation

Alluvial fans form due to a decrease in stream velocity upon exiting a confined channel; this reduction initiates sediment deposition via sediment transport, because reduced energy causes materials to settle, therefore a fan develops, rather than continued concentrated flow.

• Which outcome results when a solidified lava flow encounters buried glacial ice?
• Which process drives lateral migration contributing to oxbow lake formation within a meandering fluvial system bordering floodplain forests?
• Which pedogenic outcome results when intense termite bioturbation modifies savanna soils?
• Which mechanism leads to transverse dune formation when limited sediment is transported?
• Which outcome results when pre-existing rocks undergo differential erosion by wind?
• Which consequence results when eustatic sea-level rise breaches barrier island dunes?