Abstract Alluvial fans occur in all climatic and tectonic environments. However, most descriptions of fan features and sediments have focused on arid and semiarid regions. This paper describes the sediments… Click to show full abstract
Abstract Alluvial fans occur in all climatic and tectonic environments. However, most descriptions of fan features and sediments have focused on arid and semiarid regions. This paper describes the sediments and soil ages on 63 alluvial fans in a subhumid climate (mean annual precipitation of 45–52 cm). SSURGO soil data were merged with geologic and topographic data in the ArcMap© GIS platform to develop a series of maps showing variations across fan surfaces in sediment textures and surface stability ages. Particle size data (percent cobble and percent total gravel) from the upper 150 cm of sediments cluster into six textural groups that are aligned along a trend of decreasing gravel percentage (decreasing stream capacity) and decreasing cobble percentage (decreasing stream competency). The groups of higher cobble and gravel percentages extend from fan apex to toe in both the shallow ( 100 cm depth) layers with groups of lower cobble and gravel percentage occurring along fan margins in the shallow (
               
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