ELi5:Why is the soil red in some places?
In: Earth Science
High iron content in the soil. The iron oxidizes (i.e. becomes rust) and gives rise to the reddish rust colour of the soil.
This is usually due to red minerals in the soil. A common red mineral is iron oxide (rust) which is one of the most common mineral on the surface and have a red/orange hue to it.
The soil could have a high concentration of Iron(III)oxide or rust. Rust is, well, red so the soil turns reddish brown. Iron(III)oxide is by far the most common reason iirc but different minerals could also cause the red hue.
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