alluvial

[ uh-loo-vee-uhl ]

adjective

1. of or relating to alluvium.

noun

1. alluvial soil.
2. Australia. gold-bearing alluvial soil.

alluvial

/ əˈluːvɪəl /

adjective

1. of or relating to alluvium

noun

1. another name for alluvium
2. alluvium containing any heavy mineral, esp gold

Other Words From

• nonal·luvi·al adjective noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of alluvial¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; alluvi(um) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

The forested ridges catch rain, and water percolates into the canyon’s alluvial soil, where the trees’ roots tap into shallow groundwater.

From Los Angeles Times

From Zabriskie Point, visitors can survey a wonderland of rock formations and alluvial flow, and it’s just about impossible to tell what happened last week from what happened last century.

From Los Angeles Times

“The weaker alluvial sediments can amplify shaking, and mountains are vulnerable to landsliding, including along the roads that lead to mountain villages.”

From National Geographic

It’s a desolate alluvial fan on the southern flanks of the Cady Mountains, where sparkling calcite crystals and pieces of quartz, jasper and agate are continually carried down the slopes by thunderstorms and flash floods.

From Los Angeles Times

Prospectors call it “flood gold” — fine-sized flakes carried by alluvial waters and then deposited as flow recedes.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• carnal
• mundane
• physical
• temporal
• terrestrial
• worldly