Colluvium
Colluvium (also colluvial material or colluvial soil) is a general name for loose, unconsolidated
Location
Colluviation refers to the buildup of colluvium at the base of a hillslope.[1][2] Colluvium is typically loosely consolidated angular material located at the base of a steep hill slope or cliff. Colluvium accumulates as gently sloping aprons or fans, either at the base of or within gullies and hollows within hillslopes. These accumulations of colluvium can be several meters in thickness and often contain buried soils (paleosols), crude bedding, and cut and fill sequences.[citation needed]
Importance
Thick accumulations of colluvium may preserve a rich record of long term
Compared to alluvium
The definitions of colluvium and alluvium are interdependent and reliant on one another. Distinctions between the two are important in order to properly define the geomorphic processes that have occurred in a specific geological setting. Alluvium is sand, clay, or other similar detrital material deposited by running water.[5] The distinction between colluvium and alluvium relates to the involvement of running water. Alluvium specifically refers to the geomorphic processes involved with flowing water and so alluvium is generally fine-grained clay and silt material that has the capacity to be entrained in water currents and eventually deposited. For these same reasons, alluvium is also generally well sorted material while colluvium is not.
See also
References
- ISBN 0-922152-76-4
- ^ a b Goodie, AS (2003) Colluvium in A. S. Goodie, ed., pp. 173, Encyclopedia of Geomorphology Volume 1, A–I. Routledge, New York, New York. 1200 pp.
- ^ Anderson, D, and HA Semken (1980) The Cherokee Excavations: Holocene Ecology and Human Adaptations in Northwestern Iowa. Academic Press, New York.
- ^ Angel JR (1990) Koster site archaeology I: stratigraphy and landscape evolution. Research Series. vol. 8. Center for American Archeology, Kampsville, Illinois.
- ^ "colluvium | rock detritus and soil accumulated at the foot of a slope". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2015-12-13.
External links
- Anonymous (2007) Field Analysis:Is this a colluvial deposit Archived 2019-06-08 at the Wayback Machine, Soil Analysis Support System for Archaeology Archived 2013-02-25 at the Wayback Machine, Natural Environment Research Council, United Kingdom.