In general, the continental pattern of soils is closely related to climatic factors. Mineral or skeletal soils exist over much of arid Australia that contain virtually no organic content and have developed little depth; they may consist merely of a rough mantle of weathered rock. Gypsum is present in many of the desert loams and arid red earths. The soils of the semiarid regions (where annual precipitation is from 8 to 15 inches [203 to 380 mm]) are also alkaline, with gypsum or lime a common feature. The organic content of the soils is again low in the solonized (salt-enriched) ...(100 of 51163 words)