| Plinthosols | |
| Alternative Name: | Groundwater Laterite, Plinthaquox (USDA) |
| Classification System: | WRB |
| Code: | PT |
| Process: | Accumulation of Fe under hydromorphic conditions |
| Parent Material: | basic rock, Fe |
| Climate: | wet tropics |
Plinthosols are iron-rich soils characterized by the presence of plinthite, petroplinthite or pisoliths.
Softer plinthosols are common in the wet tropics, including in the eastern Amazon basin, the central Congo Basin and parts of Southeast Asia. Dryer areas, including the Sudano-Sahelian zone, Southern African savannah, the Indian subcontinent, and parts of Southeast Asia and northern Australia feature mostly harder pisoliths and petroplinthite.