Laterite

Laterite is a red-colored clay-like kind of soil found in the tropics. It is an infertile soil, but bricks made out of dried or baked laterite make a good building material. Most of the temples of the Khmer empire in South-East Asia are built with this material and have survived for over 1000 years.

The name Laterite derives from the Latin word later, meaning brick, referring to the soil's red brick-like color. Laterite needs the high temperatures and rainfall of the tropics to form. The water washes out the bases and the silicic acid and enriches the soil with aluminum silicates, aluminum hydrosilicates, iron oxides and iron hydroxides. The iron in particular leads to the typical red color.

de:Laterit ja:ラトソル