Caliches

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of hardened, cemented layer found in arid or semi-arid regions beneath the soil surface
2. A geological formation often characterized by calcium carbonate accumulation, forming a crust
3. A natural layer of cemented sediments that can hinder plant growth and soil drainage in desert environments

Etymology: "Caliches" is the plural of "caliche", a Spanish word for a hard crust of soil, and the plural simply refers to several such deposits. The Spanish noun "caliche" is taken from Latin "calx", meaning "pebble" or "limestone", which is also the ancestor of English "chalk". The link to chalk is a real one: both trace back to the same Latin root for small stones and lime-rich rock. The shift from pebble to soil crust makes sense once you see what the crust is. In arid regions, water rising through the ground leaves dissolved minerals behind when it evaporates, and these cement loose soil into a layer as hard and stony as rock. The Spanish speakers who named it reached for the older word for stone, so the name describes the material itself rather than its place in the landscape.

Synonyms: caliche soil, calcareous soil