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Significance This paper is of fundamental interest to the millions of residents living at the downstream end of this and other global river basins beset by industrial metals mining. Sediment-bound Hg has contaminated food webs of the San Francisco Bay-Delta, but the dominant geographical sources of Hg to downstream ecosystems in this and similar river basins are debated. Likewise, the processes by which Hg is delivered to lowlands and the patterns of its floodplain deposition are poorly understood. This research addresses a gap in generic theory of postmining fan evolution that enables anticipation, prediction, and management of contamination risk to food webs.