noun
definition
A crude form of sodium nitrate from South America; used as a fertilizer.
definition
A layer of hard clay subsoil or sedimentary rock; hardpan.
Examples of caliche in a Sentence
Chile saltpetre, cubic nitre or sodium nitrate, NaNO,, occurs under the same conditions as ordinary saltpetre in deposits covering immense areas in South America, which are known locally as caliche or terra salitrosa, and abound especially in the provinces of Tarapaca and Antofagasta in Chile.
The caliche has often a granular structure, and is yellowishwhite, bright lemon-yellow, brownish or violet in colour.
The caliche is worked up in loco for crude nitrate by extracting the salts with hot water, allowing the suspended earth to settle, and then transferring the clarified liquor, first to a cistern where it deposits part of its sodium chloride at a high temperature, and then to another where, on cooling, it yields a crop of crystals of purified nitrate.
Extensive deposits of the salt (called caliche in its crude, impure state) in the provinces of Tacna, Tarapaca, Antofagasta and Atacama owe their existence to the rainless character of the climate.