Avulsion is the process in which river (or other) flows are diverted out of an established channel into a new course at a lower elevation on the adjacent surface. Although the term usually refers to major discharge diversions that result in new channels, it is sometime used in reference to short-term flow switching within braided channels. Avulsions may be full, in which all flow is transferred out of the parent channel, or partial, in which only a portion of the flow is transferred. Full avulsions result in abandonment of the parent channel downstream of the diversion site, whereas partial avulsions lead to new channels that coexist with the parent channel. Partial avulsion is a principal mechanism that forms anastomosing channels (if the channels rejoin) and distributary channels (if the channels do not rejoin), the latter a common feature of alluvial fans and deltas. Avulsions may be abrupt or gradual. For example, in 1855 the Yellow River (China) breached one of its levees during...
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© 1978 Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc.
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Smith, N.D. (1978). Avulsion. In: Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., Longstaffe, F.J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-3609-5_16
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