Caliche
Caliche
Caliche (/kəˈliːtʃiː/ kə-LEE-chee) is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate that binds other materials—such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It occurs worldwide, in aridisol and mollisol soil orders—generally in arid or semiarid regions, including in central and western Australia, in the Kalahari Desert, in the High Plains of the western USA, in the Sonoran Desert, and in the Negev Desert of Israel.
Etymology
The term Caliche is Spanish and is originally from the Latin calx, meaning lime. Caliche is generally light-colored, but can range from white to light pink to reddish-brown, depending on the impurities present. It generally occurs in a capillary form in close proximity to the surface of the ground, and may emerge in the face of a cut made in the soil for a road, railway, or canal.
Related Terms
- Aridisol: A soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Aridisols form in an arid or semi-arid climate.
- Mollisol: A soil order in USDA soil taxonomy. Mollisols form from a significant amount of organic matter, are typically found under a grassland cover.
- Sedimentary Rock: Rock that has formed through the deposition and solidification of sediment, especially sediment transported by water (rivers, lakes, and oceans), ice (glaciers), and wind.
- Calcium Carbonate: A common substance found in rocks as the minerals calcite and aragonite (most notably as limestone, which is a type of sedimentary rock consisting mainly of calcite) and is the main component of pearls and the shells of marine organisms, snails, and eggs.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Caliche
- Wikipedia's article - Caliche
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