The Collaborative International Dictionary
Diluvium \Di*lu"vi*um\, n.; pl. E. Diluviums, L. Diluvia. [L. diluvium. See Dilute, Deluge.] (Geol.) A deposit of superficial loam, sand, gravel, stones, etc., caused by former action of flowing waters, or the melting of glacial ice.
Note: The accumulation of matter by the ordinary operation of water is termed alluvium.
Wiktionary
n. 1 An inundation or flood. 2 (context geology English) A deposit of sand, gravel, etc. made by oceanic flooding.
Wikipedia
Historically, Diluvium was a term in geology for superficial deposits formed by flood-like operations of water, and so contrasted with alluvium or alluvial deposits formed by slow and steady aqueous agencies. The term was formerly given to the boulder clay deposits, supposed to have been caused by the Noachian deluge.
In the late 20th century Russian geologist Alexei Rudoy proposed the term "diluvium" for description of deposits created as a result of catastrophic outbursts of Pleistocene giant glacier-dammed lakes in intermontane basins of the Altai. The largest of these lakes, Chuya and Kuray, had volumes of water in 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. The term "diluvium" in the meaning of A. N. Rudoy has become accepted, and the process of diluvial morpholithogenesis can be found in modern textbooks.
Usage examples of "diluvium".
This learned man, who holds such a high place in the scientific world, holds that the soil of Moulin-Quignon does not belong to the diluvium but to a much less ancient stratum, and, in accordance with Cuvier in this respect, he would by no means admit that the human species was contemporary with the animals of the Quaternary epoch.
It was developed by a preceding race which became extinct during the Diluvium Ignis.
But the heritage of the Diluvium Ignis was something he preferred to forget for the moment.
A third of a million turns might unwind enough days to carry it back to the Diluvium Ignis.
But the heritage of the Diluvium Ignis was something he preferred to forget for the moment, and Mrs.
At the outlet of this canyon--in bygone ages a mighty river--it had the appearance of having been slowly raised by the diluvium of that river, and the debris washed down from above--a suggestion repeated in miniature by the artificial plateaus of excavated soil raised before the mouths of mining tunnels in the lower flanks of the mountain.
This learned man, who holds such a high place in the scientific world, holds that the soil of Moulin-Quignon does not belong to the diluvium, but to a much less ancient strata, and, in accordance with Cuvier in this respect, he would by no means admit that the human species was contemporary with the animals of the Quaternary epoch.