The depositional feature formed where a stream flows from a steep slope onto level land is called what?

The depositional feature formed where a stream flows from a steep slope onto level land is called what?

• A. Alluvial fan
• B. Delta
• C. Canyon
• D. Dune

Answer: (A)

When a stream leaves a steep slope and enters level ground, it rapidly loses energy and drops its sediment, forming an alluvial fan. The water spreads out as it slows, so coarse material settles first near the outlet of the mountains and finer grains spread farther downslope, creating a fan-shaped apron of sediment at the canyon mouth. This contrasts with a delta, which builds where a river enters a standing body of water like a lake or ocean; a canyon is a carved valley, not a depositional feature; and a dune is shaped by wind, not water. So the feature described is an alluvial fan.

When a stream leaves a steep slope and enters level ground, it rapidly loses energy and drops its sediment, forming an alluvial fan. The water spreads out as it slows, so coarse material settles first near the outlet of the mountains and finer grains spread farther downslope, creating a fan-shaped apron of sediment at the canyon mouth. This contrasts with a delta, which builds where a river enters a standing body of water like a lake or ocean; a canyon is a carved valley, not a depositional feature; and a dune is shaped by wind, not water. So the feature described is an alluvial fan.