By Nganwuchu, Oluchukwu G.
The majority of tropical soils have shades of color varying from yellow and brown to red. The reddish color reflects the presence of iron oxides that form as a result of chemical weathering sometimes referred to as laterite, but it is now clear that the term laterite are those tropical soils with large concentrations of iron and aluminum sesquioxides that have formed a hard pan at or just below the surface.