# hardpan

Pronunciation: US say "HARD-pan" /ˈhɑɹdˌpæn/; UK say "HAHD-pan" /ˈhɑːdpæn/

## Noun

1. A distinct layer within the soil that water can scarcely penetrate.
   - Simple: A hard layer of packed soil that water cannot pass through easily.
   - _Heavy machinery had compacted the subsoil into a hardpan that trapped water near the surface._
   - _Orchardists in the valley fracture the hardpan to let young roots reach deeper moisture._
2. A dry lake: the flat, hardened bed left behind when a shallow lake evaporates.
   - Simple: A flat, dry area that was once the bottom of a lake.
   - _Wind whipped dust across the hardpan where a seasonal lake had stood months earlier._
   - _Land-speed records are set on the smooth hardpan of dry desert basins._

## Origin

Formed by combining "hard" and "pan."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hardpan (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).