caliche

American  

[kuh-lee-chee] / kəˈli tʃi /

noun

Geology.

1. a surface deposit consisting of sand or clay impregnated with crystalline salts such as sodium nitrate or sodium chloride.

2. a zone of calcium carbonate or other carbonates in soils of semiarid regions.

---

caliche British  

/ kæˈliːtʃɪ /

noun

1. Also called: calcrete. a bed of sand or clay in arid regions cemented by calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and other soluble minerals

2. Also called: duricrust. a surface layer of soil encrusted with calcium carbonate, occurring in arid regions

---

caliche Scientific  

/ kə-lē′chē /

1. See hardpan

---

Etymology

Origin of caliche

1855–60; < Spanish: flake of lime, equivalent to cal lime (< Latin calc-; see chalk) + -iche noun suffix

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caliche

I sprinkled caliche all over because it’s very important on your way up here, but it’s also a metaphor of what it’s like to be an immigrant in the United States.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2022

Expect gooseberry, pink grapefruit and minerality thanks to the caliche soils these vines grow in.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2020

And yet, Berlin is not only a soulful chronicler of the lost corners of America, whose semi-autobiographical stories brim with red caliche clay, arroyos, drainage ditches and smelter towns.

From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2018

He’s divorced with three grown daughters and lives alone in a small cabin on the ranch, removed from civilization by 30 miles of bone white caliche road.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2017

A mixture of sand and fine brown adobe clays and gray caliche, it had the texture, viscosity, and crippling powers of a tar pit.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---