Raised areas of plinthite in an eroded road bank.
Plinthite is an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other minerals. Plinthite is a redoximorphic feature in highly weathered soil. The product of pedogenesis, it commonly occurs as reddish redox concretions that usually form platy, polygonal, or reticulate patterns in the soil.
As in this profile, plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone or to irregular soil aggregates on exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is exposed to heat from the sun.
Raised areas of plinthite in an eroded road bank.
Plinthite is an iron-rich, humus-poor mixture of clay with quartz and other minerals. Plinthite is a redoximorphic feature in highly weathered soil. The product of pedogenesis, it commonly occurs as reddish redox concretions that usually form platy, polygonal, or reticulate patterns in the soil.
As in this profile, plinthite changes irreversibly to an ironstone or to irregular soil aggregates on exposure to repeated wetting and drying, especially if it is exposed to heat from the sun.