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An important discussion has recently called the attention of sedimentologists and geomorphologists to the dominant fluvial styles preserved in the geological record. While some authors postulate that distributary (or distributive) fluvial systems (DFS) patterns are the most common systems likely to dominate the present day continental sedimentary basins and the alluvial rock record, others suggest that a variety of fluvial styles including axial fluvial systems, are preserved, thus rejecting the dominance of DFSs. Arguments in favor or against the dominance of DFSs in the geological basins are mainly based on two-dimensional analysis of recent axial rivers and DFSs. However, the Quaternary record of the largest depositional tracts on Earth was not assessed in a comparative way. To fill that void, the most important Quaternary areas of sedimentation in the world, such as the alluvial belts of the largest rivers, the largest …