ABSTRACT
Coarse grained conglomeratic fluvial deposits of Pleistocene age within the Vera Basin of South-east Spain contain blocks of sandstone material up to 4.5 m in diameter. A study by Wenzens (1992) attributed the presence of such oversized clasts to periglacial mass movement processes. A more recent study by Stokes (1997) interpreted the sandstone boulders to be the product of bank collapse mass movement processes. This paper undertakes a detailed reexamination of the sandstone blocks found within the Pleistocene fluvial deposits and explores in detail the different mechanisms of small-scale mass movement processes. Whilst highlighting the problems of using sedimentary evidence to interpret mass movement mechanisms in palaeoenvironemental reconstructions, this study concludes that these particular sandstone blocks are the product of bank topples within an ephemeral fluvial environment.
