Laterite

Laterite, a mineral substance, the product of the disintegration and partial decomposition of various igneous and schistose rocks. It often attains a very considerable thickness, especially in tropical regions, where the heat is extreme and the rainfall at certain seasons is copious. In such regions the chemical decomposition of rocks is more or less rapidly effected, and the resulting products may be swept by the rains over wide areas. The earth so formed is generally red in colour, as in Ceylon, where in the dry season it is blown about as a fine dust, and imparts its hue to every neglected article and to the dresses of the inhabitants. The redness of the streets and roads attracts the notice of every stranger at Galle and Colombo. In the Deccan laterite derived from the decomposition of the basalts of the great plateaus reaches a thickness in many places of upwards of 150 feet. The red colour is due to the presence of iron oxide; but when this is absent or in small quantity the laterite may be whitish or yellowish.