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CALICHE

 - 5 dictionary results

ca⋅li⋅che

  [kuh-lee-chee]
Use CALICHE in a Sentence
–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.
Compare duricrust, hardpan.

Origin:
1855–60; < Sp: flake of lime, equiv. to cal lime (< L calc-; see chalk ) + -iche n. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ca·li·che   (kə-lē'chē)   
n.  

    1. A crude sodium nitrate occurring naturally in Chile, Peru, and the southwest United States, used as fertilizer.

    2. See sodium nitrate.

  2. See hardpan.


[American Spanish, from Spanish, pebble in a brick, flake of lime, from cal, lime, from Latin calx, calc-, lime; see calx.]
hard·pan   (härd'pān')   
n.  

  1. A layer of hard subsoil or clay. Also called caliche.

  2. Hard, unbroken ground.

  3. A foundation; bedrock.

sodium nitrate  
n.  A white crystalline compound, NaNO3, used in solid rocket propellants, in the manufacture of explosives and glass and pottery enamel, and as fertilizer. Also called caliche, Chile saltpeter, saltpeter, soda niter.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Encyclopedia

caliche

calcium-richcalcium-rich duricrust, a hardened layer in or on a soil. It is formed on calcareous materials as a result of climatic fluctuations in arid and semiarid regions. Calcite is dissolved in groundwater and, under drying conditions, is precipitated as the water evaporates at the surface. Rainwater saturated with carbon dioxide acts as an acid and also dissolves calcite and then redeposits it as a precipitate on the surfaces of the soil particles; as the interstitial soil spaces are filled, an impermeable crust is formed.

Learn more about caliche with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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