Pedimentation versus debris-flow origin of plateau-side desert terraces in southern Utah.

Plateau-side terraces in arid areas around the world are commonly described as pediment remnants, although, in many cases, they may have been formed by debris-flow deposition. Pediments do exist in the area of the Aquarius and Kaiparowits Plateaus of southern Utah; however, many alluvial terraces that were classified by previous workers as pediments are actually formed of thick deposits of sediment released into valleys by episodic landslide events. Although both pediment and debris-flow depositional terraces have smooth, alluvium-covered upper surfaces, the two can be distinguished by the shape of the underlying bedrock surface and the process of formation. The relation of younger terraces to landsliding is clear, because the terrace surfaces are graded to the toes of slide lobes, but the origin of older terraces is less obvious, because older lobes of slide debris have generally been removed by erosion. -from Author