Caliche -crusted calcium carbonate formed on certain soils in dry regions by evaporation or rising solutions… warm smell of caliche rising up in the air 
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, twdollars, we’re glad you found us.
When you start a thread, it’s helpful to other readers to provide a link to the column you’re commenting on. As it stands, I got no clue. There’s about a zillion old columns in the Archives, so it’s hard to know how to respond to you.
You could either please post here some indication of what the column was, or send me an email and I’ll add a link for you. OK? Thanks.
Try this: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1053/in-the-song-hotel-california-what-does-colitas-mean.
And when are you guys going to put out some new boox? Im tired of lugging the computer to the can! 