Laterite
a product of rock weathering in wet tropical climate
Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminum that often forms in hot, wet areas; most such soil is found in the tropics. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration due to high iron oxide content.
Laterite soils develop by intensive and prolonged weathering of the underlying parent rock, usually under conditions of high temperatures and heavy rainfall alternating with dry periods, in a process called laterization. Such prolonged chemical weathering produces a wide variety in the thickness, grade, chemistry and ore mineralogy of the resulting soils. Aside from this variety, laterite has commonly been considered a rock type as well as a soil type. These facts, and further ways of conceiving the nature of laterite (e.g. as a complete weathering profile or even a theory about weathering), have led to calls for the term to be abandoned altogether. At least a few researchers specializing in regolith development, including T. R. Paton and M. A. J. Williams, have suggested that hopeless confusion has evolved around the name.
Historically, laterite was cut into brick-like shapes and used in monument-building. After 1000 AD, construction at Angkor Wat and other southeast Asian sites changed to rectangular temple enclosures made of laterite, brick, and stone.
“Laterite” enters the record as a product of rock weathering in wet tropical climate. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Laterite, product and rock can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Laterite” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Laterite, product and rock provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q622845. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1000.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
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- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Laterite”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Laterite primary sources, Laterite archive and Laterite research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Laterite”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Laterite” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.