caliche

[ kuh-lee-chee ]

nounGeology.
  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.

Origin of caliche

1
1855–60; <Spanish: flake of lime, equivalent to cal lime (<Latin calc-;see chalk) + -iche noun suffix

Words Nearby caliche

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use caliche in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for caliche

caliche

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

Origin of caliche

1
C20: from American Spanish, from Latin calx lime

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for caliche

caliche

[ kə-lēchē ]


The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.