Answer:
Laterite comes from the Latin term ‘later,’ which means ‘brick.’ They are primarily tropical-based soils with high temperatures and considerable seasonal rainfall. It encourages soil drainage as a result of this. Rain always washes away lime and silica. Laterite soils are thought to contain farraginous aluminous rock. They take on their shape as a result of decomposition.
Colour
Laterite soil is reddish to yellow in colour, with low levels of potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, lime, and magnesia, and high levels of aluminium, iron, titanium, and manganese oxides (90 to 100 percent)
Uses
- It is good for growing crops like coffee, tea, rubber, coconut, cinchona, and others due to irrigation and correct fertilizer application.
- Because it can be efficiently chopped with a spade yet hardens like iron when exposed to air, earth is a significant supply of building material
- Ruins often reveal laterite usage as a building stone in laterite areas where a high level of culture formerly reigned