Alluvial Soil

By Deane Barker • • tags: science, geology •

This is soil that has been deposited by water. If, at some time in the past, an area of Earth was covered with water due to a prior river or flood, that water would deposit sediment that remained once the water is gone. This sediment is known as alluvium, and is known to be very agriculturally productive.

This comes from the word “diluvial,” which means something related to a flood. And that’s where we get antediluvian, which means the period of time before the Great Flood of the Bible.

Why I Looked It Up

From On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History:

In the absence of building stones and forests, the rich alluvial soil became vital to their quality of life.

Links from this – Antediluvian March 24, 2023
This technically means “before the Great Flood.” “Diluvial” means “related to a flood.” But, over the years, it’s become a synonym for “old” or “ancient,” when used to refer to non-historical things. “Diluvian” means “related to or brought about by a flood” and “ante” is the prefix for “before.”
Links from this – On Paper: The Everything of Its Two-Thousand-Year History May 2, 2024
This is an…eclectic history of paper. It starts where you would expect it to – somewhere in China, where paper was invented. The author traced the history while on a “paper history” tour. But then the book goes to some fascinating places as it investigates the role paper has played in our lives, in...