Definitions and Types
A deltaic plain consists of active or abandoned deltas, which are either overlapping or contiguous to one another. A delta is a relatively flat area at the mouth of a river or a river system in which sediment load is deposited and distributed (see Vol. VI: Delta Sedimentation). That portion of a drainage basin within which the sediment load is traded or carried in transit is referred to as an alluvial valley (see Alluvial Plains, Engineering Geology). The alluvial valley merges downstream with the deltaic plain, often where the main stream channel branches, or has branched in the past, into multiple distributaries. The deltaic plain does not necessarily begin downstream from its most upstream distributary or its most upstream abandoned distributary. In the case of the Mississippi River, the most upstream distributary at present is the Atchafalaya River (Fig. 1). However, much of the area through which the Atchafalaya now flows consists of fluviatile backswamp...
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Kolb, C.R. (1984). Deltaic plains, engineering geology . In: Finkl, C. (eds) Applied Geology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series, vol 3. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30842-3_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30842-3_16
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