Which process creates an alluvial fan when a high-gradient stream flows onto a valley floor with reduced slope?

💡 Explanation

When a high-gradient stream reaches a valley floor, the flow diverges and slows drastically, reducing its capacity to carry sediment because flow velocity critically affects sediment transport. Therefore, a reduction in stream transport capacity results, rather than processes dependent on sediment segregation or compaction load.

• Which mechanism creates increased salinity near desert stream outflows?
• Which mechanism causes enhanced coastal upwelling when trade winds weaken along the equator?
• Which mechanism causes increased stream meandering as a river flows across a coastal plain?
• Which mechanism causes increased stream meandering observed when the subtropical jet stream shifts northward?
• Which outcome occurs when tectonic uplift reduces discharge on an alluvial fan system?
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