It is clear that a great range of sediment sizes may be transported by a river. Sediment of small size (e.g., suspended load), when set in motion by erosive agents, may be transported through a river system to the sea, where it may be deposited as a deep-sea clay. Most sedimentary particles, however, have a more eventful journey to their final resting place. (In a geologic context, this may be a temporary resting place; sediment, for example, when it reaches the coast, may be incorporated in a delta at the river mouth or be acted upon by tides, currents, and waves to become a beach deposit.)

If sediment is moved downstream into a progressively more arid environment, the probability of deposition is high. Thousands of metres of alluvial fan deposits flank the mountains of the western United States, the basin-and-range terrain of Iran and Pakistan, and similar desert regions (see below). In the arid climates of these areas the sediment cannot be moved far, because the transporting medium—water—diminishes in a downstream direction as it infiltrates into the dry alluvium. In extremely arid regions, wind action may be important: the transport of sand-size and smaller sediment by wind may be the only significant mechanism for the transport within and out of some drainage systems in deserts.

The impact of human activity on river flow has come to play a major role in determining the site of sediment deposition. The many dams that have been constructed for flood control, recreation, and power generation hold much of the sediment load of rivers in reservoirs. Furthermore, the contribution of sediment from the small upstream drainage systems has been decreased by the construction of stock-water reservoirs and various erosion-control techniques aimed at retaining both water and sediment in the headwater areas. Diversion of water for irrigation also decreases the supply of water available to transport sediment; and in many cases, the diversion actually moves sediment out of the streams into irrigation canals and back onto the land.

Short-term variations

An example of a short-term change in sediment yield is provided by data on the sediment transported by the Colorado River in Arizona for the years 1926–54. It is evident that sediment yield varied widely from year to year. It is greatest for years of highest runoff, but for a given amount of runoff, the maximum sediment yield may be twice the minimum sediment yield. These variations reflect the frequency of storms and their duration and intensity during the years of record.

Another interesting aspect of the relation is that in each of the years after 1940 the annual sediment load at the Grand Canyon was 50,000,000 to 100,000,000 tons less than would be expected on the basis of the curve fitted to the data for the period 1926–40. This major decrease in sediment yield reflects some significant change in the hydrology of the Colorado River drainage basin. A study of the precipitation patterns for the years 1926–54 suggests that the change in the sediment yield-runoff relation beginning in 1941 is the result of a drought in the southwestern United States. The high-sediment-producing, weak-rock areas of the Colorado plateaus were affected by the drought, but the low-sediment-producing, hard-rock areas of the Rocky Mountains were not. Thus, during the years 1941–50 the amount of water delivered from the main runoff-producing areas in Colorado, Wyoming, and northern Utah was normal. Runoff was much reduced from the high-sediment-producing areas in southern Utah and Arizona, however. The result was essentially normal runoff but greatly reduced sediment yield. From 1950 the drought encompassed the entire Colorado River basin, and low runoff was recorded for the years 1950, 1951, 1953, and 1954; yet, the proportion of runoff produced by the high-sediment-producing areas remained low, as did the sediment yield.

It can be expected that sediment yield rates will fluctuate with climatic variations. It is possible, therefore, that an average value of sediment yield obtained for a short period of record may not provide a valid measure of the characteristic sediment yield that would be expected over a longer period of years.

A further example of short-term variation of sediment yield, in this case the result of human activity on the landscape, is provided by data illustrating the change from natural conditions to conditions produced by upland farming and from farming conditions to urban conditions in the Piedmont region of the eastern United States. Sediment yields for forested regions normally are about 37 tons per square kilometre (100 tons per square mile), and this was the case during the early part of the 19th century in this region. A significant increase in sediment yield occurred after 1820 as the land was occupied and farmed. During the period of intense farming, 1850–1930, the sediment yield reached almost 310 tons per square kilometre, but a decrease occurred between 1930 and 1960, as much land was permitted to revert to forest or grazing land. With the onset of construction and real estate development, however, vegetation was destroyed, and large quantities of sediment were eroded. The sediment yields for some small areas reached about 770 tons per square kilometre during urbanization, but with the paving of streets, completion of sewage systems, and planting of lawns, the sediment yields decreased markedly. This example demonstrates very clearly both the long-term and short-term effects of human activity on sediment yield rates.

In any drainage basin, even one not affected unduly by human action, short periods of high sediment yield will alternate with periods of little export of sediment. Prime examples are small drainage basins in arid or semiarid regions, where sediment yield occurs only during and following precipitation. Runoff and sediment yield can be zero between storms but high during and immediately following precipitation.

Even temperature variations have been demonstrated to influence sediment transport and sediment yields. Cooler water is more viscous, and this decreases the fall velocity of sediment particles and enables the stream to transport a larger amount of sediment. Thus, the sediment load of the Colorado River is greater during winter months.

The disastrous effect of fire on sediment yields may be seen in the example of the conditions that followed a major storm and flood in the steep drainage basins of the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains of California in 1938. Maximum vegetational cover on these drainage basins is only 65 percent at best, and they are notoriously high sediment producers under the most favourable conditions. Sediment yield rates were established for several drainage basins that had been subjected to fires as recently as one year before the storm and as long as 15 years before the storm. The results shown further demonstrate the great effect of vegetational disturbance on sediment yields; for example, a drainage area with only 40 percent of the area burned had a 340 percent increase in sediment yield if the fire occurred one year before the storm. According to the information provided, the burned area one year after the fire had a 10 percent vegetational cover. Obviously, a storm immediately following the fire would have had even more disastrous consequences. Three years after the burn, a 35 percent vegetation cover had been established on the burned area, and sediment yields decreased markedly to only twice the yield preceding the fire. After seven years a 45 percent cover had been established on the burned area, and sediment yields were only 50 percent greater than pre-burn values. After 15 years a 55 percent vegetal cover had been established, and sediment yields were almost normal. The decrease in sediment yield with increased plant cover is apparent. It is also obvious that an average value of sediment yield from a burned drainage basin for a 15-year period would be meaningless; with progressive reestablishment of vegetation, sediment yield rates progressively decrease with time.