talpatate
noun
tal·pa·ta·te
variants or talpetate
ˌtälpəˈtätē
plural -s
1
: a rock of superficial origin formed by the cementing action of calcium carbonate on sand, soil, or volcanic ash and equivalent in part to caliche or calcrete
2
: rather poor thin soil consisting of partly decomposed volcanic ash more or less consolidated
Word History
Etymology
American Spanish tepetate, talpetate, from Nahuatl tepetatl, from tetl stone + petatl mat