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Diluvium is an archaic term applied during the 1800s to widespread surficial deposits of sediments that could not be explained by the historic action of rivers and seas. Diluvium was initially argued to have been deposited by the action of extraordinary floods of vast extent, specifically the Noachian Flood.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. Kotlyakov, V. and Komarova, A., 2006. ''Elsevier's dictionary of geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish and German.'' New York, Elsevier Scientific Publishing. 1072 pp.
In 1822 and 1823, William Buckland published the term ''diluvium'' in his monograph ''Reliquiae Diluvianae ''Buckland, W., 1823. ''Reliquiae Diluvianae, or Observations on the Organic Remains Contained in Caves, Fissures, and Diluvial Gravel, and on Other Geological Phenomena, Attesting the Action of an Universal Deluge.'' 1st ed. John Murray, London, England. 303 pp. and in G. A. Mantel’s monograph about the geology and paleontology of the county of 
In the late 20th century Russian geologist Alexei RudoyRudoy, A.N., 2002. ''Glacier-dammed lakes and geological work of glacial superfloods in the Late Pleistocene, Southern Siberia, Altai Mountains''. ''Quaternary International'', 87(1), pp.119-140. proposed that the term "diluvium" be redefined to solely designate deposits created as a result of catastrophic outbursts of
The Altai Flood.
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. 12 pp. Deluvium, a slightly different spelling of diluvium, was sometimes used to designate diluvial sediments (diluvium).Wells, D.A., Cross, C.R., Nichols, W.R., Trowbridge, J., Kneeland, S. and Bliss, G., 1860. "The Annual of Scientific Discovery, Or, Year-book of Facts in Science and Art." Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, New York. 430 pp.von Cotta, B., Noel, R.R., 1865. "Geology and History: A Popular Exposition of all that Is Known of the Earth and its Inhabitants in Pre-Historic Times." Trübner & Co., London. However, in 1888, PavlovPavlov, A.P., 1888. ''Geneticheskie tipy materikovykh obrazovanii lednikovoi i pozdnelednikovoi epokhi.'' ''Izvestiia Geologicheskogo komiteta'', 7(7), pp. 78-96. coined the term ''deluvium'', with an ''e'', to designate products of weathered and altered rocks carried by slopewash and deposited on slopes and plains.Miller, B.A. and Juilleret, J., 2020. ''The colluvium and alluvium problem: Historical review and current state of definitions.'' ''Earth-Science Reviews'', 209, no. 103316 Currently, "deluvium" is used in Eastern and Central European countries like Lithuania and Poland to describe slopewash deposits.Leopold, M. and Völkel, J., 2007. ''Colluvium: Definition, differentiation, and possible suitability for reconstructing Holocene climate data.'' ''Quaternary International'', 162, pp.133-140.Baužienė, I., Świtoniak, M., Charzyński, P., 2008. ''Properties of deluvial soils in Poland and Lithuania and propositions for their classification.''Žemės Ūkio Mokslai.'' 15(3), pp. 29–35.
Diluvium is an archaic term applied during the 1800s to widespread surficial deposits of sediments that could not be explained by the historic action of rivers and seas. Diluvium was initially argued to have been deposited by the action of extraordinary floods of vast extent, specifically the Noachian Flood.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''Glossary of Geology'' (5th ed.). Alexandria, Virginia, American Geological Institute. 779 pp. Kotlyakov, V. and Komarova, A., 2006. ''Elsevier's dictionary of geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish and German.'' New York, Elsevier Scientific Publishing. 1072 pp.
In 1822 and 1823, William Buckland published the term ''diluvium'' in his monograph ''Reliquiae Diluvianae ''Buckland, W., 1823. ''Reliquiae Diluvianae, or Observations on the Organic Remains Contained in Caves, Fissures, and Diluvial Gravel, and on Other Geological Phenomena, Attesting the Action of an Universal Deluge.'' 1st ed. John Murray, London, England. 303 pp. and in G. A. Mantel’s monograph about the geology and paleontology of the county of Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
.Mantell, G.A.,1822. ''The fossils of the South Downs, or illustrations of the geology of Sussex''. London, England, L. Relfe. 327 pp. (p. 274) Buckland divided the surficial deposits overlying regional bedrock into ''diluvium'' and ''alluvium''. Diluvium was defined as sediments, including boulder clays, laid down by geological processes that could no longer be observed. Buckland considered the Noachian Flood to be one of these geological processes no longer in existence. "Diluvium" eventually became widely used in Europe, and was retained even into the 20th century for glacial deposits, long after the Noachian Flood explanation was quietly abandoned. Buckland defined ''alluvium
Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. ...
'' as surficial sediments laid down by processes currently active and observable, such as those associated with existing streams and coastal environments. In Germany, diluvium was also known as the ''Eiszeit'' or ''Glazialzeit'' and alluvium was known as the ''Postglazialzeit''. Both were grouped together in the ''Quartär'', or ''Quartäre Eiszeitalter'', which is equivalent to the Quaternary Period.Flint, R F., 1947. ''Glacial geology and the Pleistocene epoch.'' New York, John Wiley and Sons. 589 pp.
In the late 20th century Russian geologist Alexei RudoyRudoy, A.N., 2002. ''Glacier-dammed lakes and geological work of glacial superfloods in the Late Pleistocene, Southern Siberia, Altai Mountains''. ''Quaternary International'', 87(1), pp.119-140. proposed that the term "diluvium" be redefined to solely designate deposits created as a result of catastrophic outbursts of Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
giant glacier-dammed lakes such as the Altai floods in the Altai Mountains
The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their headwaters. The massif merges with the ...
. The largest of these lakes, Chuya and Kuray, had volumes of water in the hundreds of cubic kilometers, and their discharge in peak hydrograph flow rate exceeded the maximum rates of the well-known Pleistocene Lake Missoula floods in North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
.Rudoy, A.N. and Baker, V.R., 1993. ''Sedimentary effects of cataclysmic late Pleistocene glacial outburst flooding, Altay Mountains, Siberia.'' ''Sedimentary Geology'', 85(1-4), pp.53-62.Lee, Keenan, 2004The Altai Flood.
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado. 12 pp. Deluvium, a slightly different spelling of diluvium, was sometimes used to designate diluvial sediments (diluvium).Wells, D.A., Cross, C.R., Nichols, W.R., Trowbridge, J., Kneeland, S. and Bliss, G., 1860. "The Annual of Scientific Discovery, Or, Year-book of Facts in Science and Art." Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln, New York. 430 pp.von Cotta, B., Noel, R.R., 1865. "Geology and History: A Popular Exposition of all that Is Known of the Earth and its Inhabitants in Pre-Historic Times." Trübner & Co., London. However, in 1888, PavlovPavlov, A.P., 1888. ''Geneticheskie tipy materikovykh obrazovanii lednikovoi i pozdnelednikovoi epokhi.'' ''Izvestiia Geologicheskogo komiteta'', 7(7), pp. 78-96. coined the term ''deluvium'', with an ''e'', to designate products of weathered and altered rocks carried by slopewash and deposited on slopes and plains.Miller, B.A. and Juilleret, J., 2020. ''The colluvium and alluvium problem: Historical review and current state of definitions.'' ''Earth-Science Reviews'', 209, no. 103316 Currently, "deluvium" is used in Eastern and Central European countries like Lithuania and Poland to describe slopewash deposits.Leopold, M. and Völkel, J., 2007. ''Colluvium: Definition, differentiation, and possible suitability for reconstructing Holocene climate data.'' ''Quaternary International'', 162, pp.133-140.Baužienė, I., Świtoniak, M., Charzyński, P., 2008. ''Properties of deluvial soils in Poland and Lithuania and propositions for their classification.''Žemės Ūkio Mokslai.'' 15(3), pp. 29–35.
See also
* * * * *References
{{Glaciers Pleistocene Sedimentology Geomorphology Megafloods