caliche

[ kuh-lee-chee ]

/ kəˈli tʃi /

noun Geology.

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

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

Nearby words

Compare duricrust, hardpan.

Origin of caliche

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caliche

And if the road passed over the caliche flat thered be wheel marks; that was sure.
Dust of the Desert|Robert Welles Ritchie
The caliche varies in thickness from a few inches to 10 or 12 feet, and rests on a soft stratum of earth called cova.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman
Undoubtedly this is what will ultimately take place, when the richer quality of the caliche has been exhausted.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman
The man whirled and started on a staggering run along the rim of the caliche he had been travelling.
Dust of the Desert|Robert Welles Ritchie

The caliche, or raw nitrate of soda, is not equally distributed over the pampas.
Manures and the principles of manuring|Charles Morton Aikman

British Dictionary definitions for caliche

caliche

/ (kæˈliːtʃɪ) /

noun

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

a surface layer of soil encrusted with calcium carbonate, occurring in arid regionsAlso called: duricrust

Word Origin for caliche

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

Word Origin and History for caliche

caliche

sodium nitrate deposits in Chile and Peru, 1858, from American Spanish, from Spanish caliche "pebble in a brick," from Latin calx "pebble" (see chalk (n.)).

Science definitions for caliche

caliche

[ kə-lē′chē ]

See hardpan.