hardpan
Dense underground layer
Hardpan is a dense, compacted layer of soil that water cannot penetrate, typically found a few feet below the surface.
It forms when minerals cement soil particles together, creating an impervious barrier that frustrates farmers and gardeners: We hit hardpan two feet down and had to stop digging.
Figuratively, hardpan suggests bedrock reality or fundamental truth: getting down to hardpan.
Dense impermeable soil layer
- calicheMineral-ceite hardened soil layer
- subsoilEarth layer below surface
- stratumHorizontal layer of material
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
bedrock · substratum · sediment · deposit · formation · pedology · profile · outcrop
Impossible to pass through
- imperviousUnable to be affected
- resistantWithstanding external forces
- obstructionSomething blocking the way
- obstacleSomething blocking the way
unyielding · impermeable · water table · runoff · ponding
Soil preparation for planting
- permeabilityAbility to transmit fluids
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- crop rotationAlternating field plantings yearly
- soil amendmentSubstance improving dirt quality
chiseling · ripping · drainage · waterlogging · compaction · penetration · aeration · cultivation
Reducing volume through pressure
- tampingCompacting by repeated pressure
- densificationIncreasing mass per volume
- foundationUnderlying support structure
- subbaseFoundation beneath a surface
grading · excavation · roadbed · stabilization · geotechnical · earthwork · cut and fill · load bearing
claypan
Dense impermeable soil layer
- calicheMineral-ceite hardened soil layer
- subsoilEarth layer below surface
- stratumHorizontal layer of material
horizon · bedrock · substratum · sediment · deposit · formation · pedology · profile · outcrop · laterite
impenetrable
Impossible to pass through
- imperviousUnable to be affected
- resistantWithstanding external forces
- obstructionSomething blocking the way
obstacle · unyielding · impermeable · water table · runoff · ponding
tillage
Soil preparation for planting
- permeabilityAbility to transmit fluids
- irrigationArtificial water supply for agriculture
- crop rotationAlternating field plantings yearly
soil amendment · chiseling · ripping · drainage · waterlogging · compaction · penetration · aeration · cultivation
compaction
Reducing volume through pressure
- tampingCompacting by repeated pressure
- densificationIncreasing mass per volume
- foundationUnderlying support structure
subbase · grading · excavation · roadbed · stabilization · geotechnical · earthwork · cut and fill · load bearing
- arid landscapesdesert, badlands, sand dunes, dunes, salt flat
- ground surfacesdirt, grass, gravel, sand, soil
- rough roadsdirt road, gravel road, rough road, muddy road, rutted road
- groundground, earth, soil, dirt, land
- barrensbadlands, wasteland, dust bowl, salt flat, salt flats
- soil sciencesoil, topsoil, subsoil, clay, sand
hardpansandy soil
Coarse, granular earth
loam · sandy loam · topsoil · humus · peat