loam

loam

1. rich soil consisting of a mixture of sand, clay, and decaying organic material

2. a paste of clay and sand used for making moulds in a foundry, plastering walls, etc.

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

loam

[lōm]

(geology)

Soil mixture of sand, silt, clay, and humus.

(metallurgy)

Molding material consisting of sand, silt, and clay used over backup material for producing massive castings, usually of iron or steel.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

loam

In building construction, a mixture composed chiefly of moistened clay, sand, and silt, or some mixture including these ingredients. Once used as a mortar when combined with lime, or used as a plaster with the addition of chopped straw.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Loam

 

a friable sandy and clayey sedimentary rock containing 10–30 percent (by weight) clay particles smaller than 0.005 mm. In soil science, loam with a higher clay content is called heavy loam, and that with less clay is called light loam. A distinction is made between coarse sandy, fine sandy, and silty loam, depending on the content of (1) sand grains of the corresponding size and (2) silty, or aleurite, particles.

The mineralogical composition of loam is varied: the more sandy loan has a high quartz content, whereas the more clayey type contains clay minerals, such as kaolinite, illite, and montmorillonite. Loam is sometimes rich in organic substances; in arid regions it may be rich in water-soluble salts. The origin of loam is usually continental; the corresponding ocean deposits are called sandy or aleurite clays. Loam is often used as a raw material for the production of brick.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.