Which process limits the downstream extent of an alluvial fan in a confined valley?

💡 Explanation

When flows reach the alluvial fan's distal edge, sediment sorting via hydrodynamics occurs because diminishing flow velocity causes coarser material to deposit closer to the fan apex, and finer particles are transported further downstream, resulting in termination of coarse fan sediments. Therefore, sediment sorting limits extent, rather than uplift, stabilization, or incision, all requiring different controlling factors.

• Which mechanism causes the offset of river channels along strike-slip transform plate boundaries?
• Which outcome follows accelerated glacial retreat on bedrock?
• Which geologic response commonly follows rapid isostatic rebound after glacial melt near fault lines?
• Which mechanism primarily leads to the formation of an oxbow lake cutoff?
• Which outcome is more likely when floodplain levees subside unevenly?
• Which effect increases as air parcel velocity increases parallel to isobar lines due to the Coriolis force?