Fluvial Desert Landforms

Running water plays a significant role in shaping landscapes, particularly in semi-arid regions that experience moderate rainfall.

• Washes/Wadis: These are valley-like ravines, often characterized by interlocking spurs.
• Badlands: When a surface is heavily dissected by numerous wadis, it results in a distinctive topography known as Badlands.
  • Example: The Chambal Badlands in India. 
• Mesas and Buttes: In arid plateaus, when a resistant horizontal layer is eroded by wind and water, it forms mesas and buttes.
  • Mesas: Flat-topped, steep-sided landforms separated from the main plateau.
  • Buttes: Smaller versions of mesas.
• Bolsons: These are intermontane basins found in arid and semi-arid regions.
• Playas: Temporary lakes that form in the center of bolsons where water accumulates.
  • Example: Lake Lop Nor in the Tarim Basin, northwest China.
• Pediments: Broad, gently sloping rock-cut surfaces located between a mountain front and the adjacent bajada.
• Bajada: A gently sloping depositional plain that lies between pediments and playas.
  • Formed by the merging of several alluvial fans.