Fluvial deposits represent the preserved record of one of the major nonmarine environ ments. They accumulate in large and small intermontane valleys, in the broad valleys of trunk rivers, in the wedges of alluvial fans flanking areas of uplift, in the outwash plains fronting melting glaciers, and in coastal plains. The nature of alluvial assemblages - their lithofacies composition, vertical stratigraphic record, and architecture - reflect an inter play of many processes, from the wandering of individual channels across a floodplain, to the long-term effects of uplift and subsidence. Fluvial deposits are a sensitive indicator of tectonic processes, and also carry subtle signatures of the climate at the time of deposition. They are the hosts for many petroleum and mineral deposits. This book is about all these subjects. The first part of the book, following a historical introduction, constructs the strati graphic framework of fluvial deposits, step by step, starting with lithofacies, combining these into architectural elements and other facies associations, and then showing how these, in turn, combine to represent distinctive fluvial styles. Next, the discussion turns to problems of correlation and the building of large-scale stratigraphic frameworks. These basin-scale constructions form the basis for a discussion of causes and processes, including autogenic processes of channel shifting and cyclicity, and the larger questions of allogenic (tectonic, eustatic, and climatic) sedimentary controls and the development of our ideas about nonmarine sequence stratigraphy.

Understanding of rivers and their sediments, both as modern systems and as ancient counterparts in the geological record, has progressed steadily but markedly over the past several decades, with contributions by practitioners in diverse fields of geosciences and engineering. This book contains 31 papers, with authors from 13 countries, who participated in the Sixth International Conference on Fluvial Sedimentology held in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1977. True to the nature of these quadrennial conferences, the papers in this book discuss a broad range of fluvial subjects that include the character of bedforms and sediment transport in river channels, morphological and sedimentological features of modern fluvial environments, modern and ancient avulsions, internal and external controls on the behaviour of river systems, and the facies and architectural organization of alluvial deposits. A specialist volume detailing the latest advances in fluvial sedimentology. Authorship includes the leaders in the field. If you are a member of the International Association of Sedimentologists, for purchasing details, please see: http://www.iasnet.org/publications/details.asp?code=SP28