caliche Hear it!

caliche definition

ca·li·che (kə lē′c̸hē, -c̸hə)

noun

  1. a hardened conglomeration of gravel, rock, and soil that contains sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, etc., found mainly in arid regions of Chile and Argentina
  2. a type of hardpan found in arid regions, as in the SW U.S., containing calcareous deposits, esp. of calcium carbonate

Etymology: AmSp < Sp cal, lime < L calx: see calcium

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.