A debris cone consists of debris deposited in a conical shape with a surface slope greater than 10 degrees (perpendicular to contours), usually transported by small streams or snow avalanches. A debris cone is also called a dirt cone or cone of detritus. A debris cone is commonly made when rock from a high-up narrow slit or gorge falls into a flat-floored valley. Here the soil and loose materials are deposited, leaving a mound of conical shape. While an alluvial fan is formed when flowing water rushes rock and soil down a slope, debris cones come from one of several dry processes known as

mass wasting Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity. It differs from other processes of erosion in that the debris transported by mass wasting is not entrained in ...

. That is gravity pulling loose materials downslope. Such mounds can reach sizes large enough to obstruct river channels. Similar deposits can also be found lying on

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

s moved by a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environmen ...

, or on a

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such a ...

, where a cone-shaped mound of ice or snow may be covered with a veneer of debris thick enough to prevent the underlying ice from melting.

References

{{reflist Deposition (geology)

See also

References