Latosol

Latosol is a name given to soils found under tropical rainforests with a relatively high content of iron and aluminium oxides. They are typically classified as oxisols (USDA soil taxonomy)or ferralsols (World Reference Base for Soil Resources). It is largely correct to say that latosols are tropical soils, but the reverse is not true because there are many soils in the tropics that are not latosolic. Latosols are red or yellowish-red in colour throughout and they do not have distinct horizons like a podsol. The red colour comes from the iron oxides in the soil. They are deep soils, often 20-30m deep whereas podsols are 1-2m deep.