alluvium
Flood-deposited soil
Alluvium is sediment deposited by flowing water—sand, silt, clay, and gravel left behind by rivers and floods.
Rich alluvial soil makes floodplains and river deltas among the most fertile agricultural land: The Nile's alluvium sustained Egyptian civilization for millennia.
The adjective is alluvial: alluvial deposits, alluvial fan.
Particles settling in liquid
- siltWaterborne earth particles
- clayMoldable earth for ceramics
- sandFine rock particles
- gravelLoose small rock fragments
deposit · accumulation · stratum · layering · overbank · drift · loess · till
Flood-prone riverside lowland
- deltaSymbol denoting variation
- meanderTo travel without direction
- oxbowTight river curve
- terracePaved outdoor extension
levee · fan · bar · bench · channel · streambed · riverbed · bottomland
Relating to rivers
- riverineOf or by streams
- riparianRelating to riverbanks
- streamflowRiver water's measured movement
- dischargeRelease of substance outward
runoff · watershed · catchment · tributary · confluence · downstream · erosion · transport
Last 2.6 million years
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- unconsolidatedNot unified or compacted
- stratifiedArranged in stacked layers
glaciofluvial · aeolian · marine · moraine · glacial · aquifer · groundwater · porosity
Ground matter for planting
- loamFertile soil mixture
- topsoilNutrient-rich surface earth
- humusDecayed organic soil matter
- arableFit for cultivation
tillable · farmable · nutrient-rich · agriculture · cultivation · verdant · Mesopotamian
sediment
Particles settling in liquid
gravel · deposit · accumulation · stratum · layering · overbank · drift · loess · till · outwash
floodplain
Flood-prone riverside lowland
terrace · levee · fan · bar · bench · channel · streambed · riverbed · bottomland · lowland
fluvial
Relating to rivers
- riverineOf or by streams
- riparianRelating to riverbanks
- streamflowRiver water's measured movement
discharge · runoff · watershed · catchment · tributary · confluence · downstream · erosion · transport · inundation
Quaternary
Last 2.6 million years
- HoloceneCurrent geological epoch
- PleistoceneAncient glacial geological period
- unconsolidatedNot unified or compacted
stratified · glaciofluvial · aeolian · marine · moraine · glacial · aquifer · groundwater · porosity · permeability
soil
Ground matter for planting
arable · tillable · farmable · nutrient-rich · agriculture · cultivation · verdant · Mesopotamian
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- Soilsoil, topsoil, subsoil, dirt, loam
- earth materialsrock, soil, mud, clay, mineral
- riverbankriverbank, bank, shore, shoreline, embankment
- estuarybrackish water, tidal flat, mudflat, distributary, salinity
- floodplain featureslevee, oxbow lake, delta, bottomland, meander