Gravel field
The gravel field is a term from geomorphology or geophysics and describes alluvial plains whose subsoil generally consists of gravel and boulders . It is used in connection with alpine glaciation . They arise when glacial melt streams cut through the terminal moraine and widen in the plain beyond. As a result, the Schmelzbach loses speed considerably and leaves the debris carried in a wide alluvial cone . The initially quite large inclination ratio (up to 20%) quickly decreases. Coarser material is deposited close behind the terminal moraine, whereas finer gravel and sand are carried far downstream. They are mostly found on rivers below (former) glaciers . In the foothills of the Alps, a gravel field has formed instead of a sander , as the alpine glaciers have covered a shorter distance than the Scandinavian inland ice and therefore could not grind the material carried along so finely.
An example of a gravel field is the Munich gravel plain .