a deposit of sand or clay on the surface containing crystallized salts such as sodium chloride or sodium nitrate; -- used especially of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru.
a stratum of calcium carbonate in the soil of an arid or semiarid region.
one of Tucson's hidden monsters. Found beneath the soil the mineral build up forms a layer of rock that's almost like a slab of concrete. The caliche can prevent root growth and water drainage. Varying in thickness, it's possible to dig a chimney through the concrete to allow for drainage. A pick, steel bar, or jackhammer along with perfunctory cursing may be needed to dig through the stuff.
deposits of calcium carbonate that occur as the substrata throughout much of the Tucson Basin. Caliche occurs as irregular, impervious layers a fraction of an inch to several feet in thickness, or as the matrix in a sand and gravel conglomerate. The formation of caliche is an ongoing process. Many of the pottery sherds and pieces of stone tools found at the Hardy Site were covered with caliche.
More commonly called hardpan, this is sometimes found in the south west of the USA. Lime (calcium carbonate) is deposited just below the soil surface either because of arid conditions or through the overuse of chemical fertilisers.
crust or layer of hard subsoil encrusted with calcium-carbonate occurring in arid or semiarid regions
nitrate-bearing rock or gravel of the sodium nitrate deposits of Chile and Peru
a soil deposit of fine salts or clays impregnated with crystalline salts such as sodium nitrate or sodium chloride. May be a zone of calcium or mixed carbonate in soils found in semiarid regions.
Most people who live in the drier parts of Texas are familiar with caliche. It's that white soil that you commonly see. In some places the white soil is soft, and other places it's almost as hard as rock. The soil is white because it's mostly calcium carbonate, the same mineral that makes up limestone, and scientists call these "calcic soils." Calcic soils form in desert areas where the rainfall is low. The rainwater is absorbed by the soils, but the soils are so dry that the moisture stays in the top few feet of the soils until it evaporates or is taken up by plant roots. The rainwater has minor amounts of calcium carbonate, either particles that have dissolved in the water or tiny dust particles, and the calcium carbonate is left behind in the soil when moisture is evaporated or used by plants. Over many years so much calcium carbonate is added to the soils that they turn white. Over thousands of years so much calcium carbonate is deposited that a rock-hard caliche is formed that may be several feet thick. Caliche
A hard, alkaline soil or soil crust containing white calcium carbonate; common in arid regions.
A white soil horizon consisting of calcium carbonate, typical of arid and semi-arid areas. Brief heavy rains dissolve calcium carbonate in the upper layers of soil and transport it downward; the rainwater then evaporates rapidly, leaving the calcium carbonate to form a new, solid layer of soil.
A hard, white soil horizon, rich in calcium carbonate, that commonly forms in arid and semi-arid areas.
Caliche - A term used broadly to describe secondary accumulations of calcium carbonate; it may include cemented gravels or stony soils and usually forms in arid or semi-arid environments such as in the southwestern United States. Also, hardpan.
a deposit of calcium carbonate (lime) below the soil surface, common in arid areas of the West and Southwest U.S.
A soil that consists of gravel, sand and clay cemented together by calcium carbonate.
Brown or white material, usually containing rocks and gravel that are cemented together tightly with calcium carbonate. Commonly encountered in dry, desert placers. Gold is usually on top or in this material.
A soil condition found in some areas of the arid Southwest, or as the result of synthetic fertilizers, caliche is a deposit of calcium carbonate (lime) beneath the soil surface. This condition is more commonly called 'hardpan' and creates an impervious layer in lower levels of soil.
An accumulation of calcium carbonate at or near the soil surface.
One or more layers of calcium carbonate deposited as water holding the carbonates in suspension evaporates. This is similar to hard water deposits on drying dishes.
A solid, almost impervious accumulation of which calcium carbonate-rich material commonly found in layers on or near the surface of soils in arid regions.
A layer or horizon cemented by the deposition of calcium carbonate. It usually occurs within the soil but may be at the surface due to erosion.
Caliche is a hardened deposit of calcium carbonate. This calcium carbonate cements together other materials, including gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It is found in aridisol and mollisol soil orders.