Abstract

The study of channel margin deposits is crucial to better understand fluvial systems and has significant social and economic implications. This paper describes sedimentological features of Late Holocene levee and point-bar deposits from five excellent outcrop exposures along the Cambodian tract of the Mekong River. Point-bar deposits show a typical fining-upward trend with low-angle inclined bedding and consist of gravelly sand, sand and mud beds. Levee deposits show a typical coarsening-upward or no clear vertical grain-size trend and consist of mud and very fine sand beds. Channel margin deposits formed in the outer river bend show a simple levee element, whereas inner bend deposits show more complex architecture with combinations of point-bar and levee elements. Water-level fluctuations play a fundamental role in the construction of point-bar and levee architecture; the resulting deposits show evidence of strong river currents with rapid sedimentation alternating with evidence of subaerial exposure with no sedimentation. This combination of sedimentary features can also form in other environments, but is distinctive of channel margin deposits forming in climates with a pronounced seasonality, including large and perennial rivers in tropical savannah climate areas.