Alluvial fan in the context of "Debris flows"

Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topographically higher mountains, hills, and uplands. Frequently foothills consist of alluvial fans, coalesced alluvial fans, and dissected plateaus.

Alluvium (from Latin alluvius, from alluere 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is typically geologically young and is not consolidated into solid rock. Sediments deposited underwater, in seas, estuaries, lakes, or ponds, are not described as alluvium.Floodplain alluvium can be highly fertile, and supported some of the earliest human civilizations.

A subaqueous fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed beneath water (similar to deltas or terrestrial alluvial fans), that is commonly related to glaciers and crater lakes.

Subaqueous fan deposits are generally described as coarse to fine gravel and/or sand, with variable texture and sorting.Underflows (meltwater denser than lake water) tend to produce subaqueous fans with channels and levees. Subaqueous fans can be formed by the influence of glacier movement and by underwater currents typically found at a river delta. The sediment size and composition that makes up the subaqueous fan is dependent on the type of rock that the water flow or glacial ice sheet moves over. Sedimentary structures found in subaqueous fans are heavily dependent on the strength of the water flow.

A wadi (/ˈwɒ.di/ WOD-ee; Arabic: وَادِي) is a river valley or a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water only when heavy rain occurs. Wadis are located on gently sloping, nearly flat parts of deserts; commonly they begin on the lowest portions of alluvial fans and extend to inland sabkhas or dry lakes. Permanent channels do not exist, due to lack of continual water flow. Water percolates down into the stream bed, causing an abrupt loss of energy and resulting in vast deposition. Wadis may develop dams of sediment that change the stream patterns in the next flash flood.

Wadis tend to be associated with centers of human population because sub-surface water is sometimes available in them. Nomadic and pastoral desert peoples will rely on seasonal vegetation found in wadis, even in regions as dry as the Sahara, as they travel in complex transhumance routes.

The Toyohira River (豊平川, Toyohira-gawa) is a river in Hokkaido, Japan. It is 72.5 km in length and has drainage area of 894.7 km². It is a tributary of the Ishikari River.

It supplies water to Sapporo city, the capital of Hokkaido built on the alluvial fan formed by the river. Jōzankei is a popular attraction with onsen (hot springs) along the upper Toyohira.