01SENSORY ASSOCIATIONSCULTURAL
- Color
- Rain-dark earth
- Texture
- Damp dust
- Temperature
- Cool
- Sound
- First drops on dry ground
SmellBook editorialCULTURALRevision 2
Petrichor
Also known as Earth After Rain
The earthy, mineral-rich smell experience associated with rain arriving after a dry period.
ATLAS POSITION031 / 200
MILESTONEIconic 100
PRIMARY CATEGORYNature
PUBLIC TYPEPhenomenon
PROFILE STATUScomplete
CULTURAL3associations / context
EXPERIMENTAL2nearby / prototype structure
VERIFIED1published source-backed claims
Source registry ↗02FEELS LIKECULTURAL
reliefnostalgiacalm
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
03CONTEXTCULTURAL
first rain after droughtdry soil becoming wetsummer storm
04NEARBYEXPERIMENTAL
Early editorial relationships, not a live graph ranking.
05SCIENCE & SOURCESEXPERIMENTAL
VERIFIEDCLM-PETRICHOR-001 ↗
The scientific literature has used the term petrichor for the characteristic earthy odour associated with rain acting on dry mineral and soil environments.
Historical scientific framing of petrichor; this does not mean every rainy environment has one identical chemical profile.
VERIFIEDPRIMARY
Nature of Argillaceous Odour
I. J. Bear & R. G. Thomas
DOI 10.1038/201993a0MY SMELLBOOK · LOCAL ONLY
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IN FRAGRANCE & SPACES
Petrichor is a reference in curated scent directions.
Directions cite canonical smells as descriptive references, not product recommendations. Fragrance-free is always a valid choice for a space.
Petrichor is narrower than the broader Rain profile: it centers the characteristic earthy smell associated with rain on previously dry ground.
EDITORIAL REVISIONRevision 2
Added VERIFIED petrichor evidence provenance and public alias.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-09-22EVIDENCE MATTERS
A profile can contain different kinds of knowledge.
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See evidence coverage ↗