hardpan

[ hahrd-pan ]

noun

1. any layer of firm detrital matter, as of clay, underlying soft soil. Compare caliche, duricrust.
2. hard, hard, unbroken ground.
3. the fundamental or basic aspect of anything; solid foundation; underlying reality:

   the hardpan of mathematical theory.

hardpan

/ ˈhɑːdˌpæn /

noun

1. a hard impervious layer of clay below the soil, resistant to drainage and root growth

hardpan

/ härd′păn′ /

1. A hard, usually clay-rich layer of soil lying at or just below the ground surface, in which soil particles are cemented together by silica, iron oxide, calcium carbonate, or organic matter that has precipitated from water percolating through the soil. Hardpans do not soften when exposed to water.
2. Also called caliche

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardpan¹

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; hard + pan ¹

Example Sentences

They passed grapes, peaches, and plums and lingered on 12,000 acres of figs that a Kansas preacher was planting in the red hardpan.

From MIT Technology Review

"My God, My Glock, and my Gallant" Above hardpan deserts, red dawns chased away Orion, the Hunter, day after night.

From The Daily Beast

For hardpan, shale, loose rock and similar materials, ample strength of teeth and dipper is of greater importance than its shape.

From Project Gutenberg

Old Hardpan himself couldn't have beaten it, even in his mule-skinning days.

From Project Gutenberg

Where blue gravel or hardpan and clean bank gravel are procurable, a good road may be made by mixing the two together.

From Project Gutenberg

The cost of specially made grubs for digging in hardpan is about $26 per dozen.

From Project Gutenberg

Old Scarface whitewashes fences for a nickel an hour and they live in a dirty hole of a cabin down in Hardpan.

From Project Gutenberg