A hardened natural cement of calcium carbonateMineral or compound containing carbon and oxygen (i.e. calcium carbonate, CaCO3, calcite)., CaCO3, binds other materials like gravels and sand. Caliche is generally light-colored, but can range from white (Northwest Africa) to reddish-brown (due to iron in the soil as found in Australia), depending on the impurities present. This caliche often encrusts meteorites found in the hot desert and can be very difficult to remove chemically and/or mechanically without damaging the meteoriteWork in progress. A solid natural object reaching a planet’s surface from interplanetary space. Solid portion of a meteoroid that survives its fall to Earth, or some other body. Meteorites are classified as stony meteorites, iron meteorites, and stony-iron meteorites. These groups are further divided according to their mineralogy and.
Caliche forms naturally during repeated wetting and drying in arid climates where calcium is present in the soil.