Alluvium deposits in the Gamtoos Valley in South Africa

An Alluvial plain in Red Rock Canyon State Park (California)

Alluvial river deposits on the Amazon Basin, near Autazes, AM – Brazil. The seasonal deposits are extremely fertile, and crucial to subsistence farming in the Amazon Basin along the river banks.

Alluvium (from the Latin, alluvius, from alluere, "to wash against") is loose, unconsolidated (not cemented together into a solid rock) soil or sediments, which has been eroded, reshaped by water in some form, and redeposited in a non-marine setting.^[1][2] Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel. When this loose alluvial material is deposited or cemented into a lithological unit, or lithified, it would be called an alluvial deposit.

Definitions[link]

The term "alluvium" is not typically used in situations where the formation of the sediment can clearly be attributed to another geologic process that is well described. This includes (but is not limited to): lake sediments (lacustrine), river sediments (fluvial), or glacially-derived sediments (glacial till). Sediments that are formed and/or deposited in a perennial stream or river are typically 'not' referred to as alluvial.

Age[link]

Most, if not all, alluvium is very young (Quaternary in age), and is often referred to as "cover" because these sediments obscure the underlying bedrock. Most sedimentary material that fills a basin ("basin fill") that is not lithified is typically lumped together in the term alluvial.

Ores[link]

Alluvium can contain many valuable ores such as gold and platinum and a wide variety of gemstones. Such concentrations of valuable ores is termed a placer deposit.

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alluvium

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alluvium". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Laurie Blakeman
MLA for Edmonton Centre
Incumbent
Assumed office March 11, 1997
Preceded by	Michael Henry
Personal details
Born	(1958-05-23) May 23, 1958 (age 54)[1] Edmonton, Alberta
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Ben Henderson
Residence	Edmonton, Alberta
Occupation	Non-profit manager
Website	http://www.laurieblakeman.ca

Laurie Blakeman (born May 23, 1958) is a Canadian politician, who currently represents the electoral district of Edmonton Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. She is a member of the Alberta Liberal Party, and was first elected in the 1997 election.

Early life[link]

She graduated with a bachelor's degree in fine arts in acting and a certificate in public administration from the University of Alberta.^[2] Before entering politics, she worked for the Alberta Advisory Council on Women's Issues, the Phoenix Theatre and Theatre Network, the Medical Council of Canada, and the Alberta Snowmobile Association.^[2]

Political career[link]

Electoral record[link]

Blakeman first sought political office in the 1997 provincial election, when she ran as a Liberal candidate in Edmonton Centre to replace retiring Liberal MLA Michael Henry.^[3] She was elected, finishing more than a thousand votes ahead of the second place finisher, Progressive Conservative Don Weideman.^[3] This gap narrowed when Weideman challenged her re-election bid in the 2001 election,^[3] but grew to more than three thousand votes in 2004.^[4] The 2008 election would bring a new Progressive Conservative Opponent, in Bill Donahue, but a similar result, as Blakeman handily retained her seat in an election in which half of incumbent Liberal MLAs lost theirs.^[5]

Legislative initiatives[link]

In 1997, Blakeman sponsored the Domestic Abuse Act, a private member's bill that never reached second reading.^[6] In 1998, she brought forward the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Amendment Act, another private member's bill, which would have expanded the province's anti-discrimination legislation to include sexual orientation as a basis on which discrimination was prohibited^[7] (later the same year, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Vriend v. Alberta, ruled Alberta's failure to include this to be in contravention of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms);^[8] it too failed to advance to second reading.^[9]

In 1999, Blakeman sponsored the Consumers Insurance Company Act, a private bill designed to create a new insurance company, in compliance with the law that new insurance companies could only be created by acts of the legislature.^[10] However, the bill faced some opposition from Blakeman's Liberal colleagues, including Linda Sloan, Hugh MacDonald, and Gary Dickson, who expressed concern that the bill might be a step towards privatized medicine.^[10][11] The bill passed.^[12]

In 2007, Blakeman sponsored the Healthy Futures Act, which would have required major policy and funding decisions to undergo "health impact assessments", which would look at their impacts on Albertans' health through social and environmental impacts.^[13] Blakeman's Liberal colleagues supported the bill, as did the New Democrats (although NDP MLA Ray Martin expressed concern that the bill only required assessment, rather than action, on potential adverse health impacts)^[13] and several Progressive Conservatives.^[14] Even so, it was defeated through majority opposition of the Progressive Conservatives, many of whom expressed the view that the bill would add nothing meaningful that did not already exist under the existing regulatory framework, while, in the words of PC MLA Dave Rodney, "effectively bring[ing] the decision- making apparatus of the government and this Assembly to a grinding halt."^[13][14]

Leadership aspirations[link]

After Kevin Taft announced his intention to resign the leadership of the Alberta Liberal Party following its defeat in the 2008 election, Blakeman was one of four MLAs to express interest in running in the ensuing election to replace him.^[15] However, in August she announced that she would not do so, citing the cost of a candidacy.^[16]

Critic Portfolios[link]

• Official Opposition House Leader
• Critic for Environment
• Critic for Sustainable Resource Development
• Critic for Culture and Community Spirit

Personal life[link]

Blakeman is married to Edmonton city councillor Ben Henderson.^[17]

Election results[link]

References[link]