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Also known as Earth After Rain
Spanish (pilot): Petricor · pending native-speaker review · Leer en español (piloto)
The earthy, mineral-rich smell experience associated with rain arriving after a dry period.
Petrichor smells earthy, mineral and fresh, with a sudden dusty sweetness as rain first touches dry ground. EDITORIAL
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Links SmellBook records for this entry: where you meet it, related smells and comparisons. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors. Nothing here is a ranking.
QUESTIONS ABOUT PETRICHOR
Petrichor smells earthy, mineral and fresh, with a sudden dusty sweetness as rain first touches dry ground. The impression is strong and distinctive in the opening minutes, then softens as the ground becomes soaked. Its texture is dry and powdery at first, then cooler and damper. It is narrower than the general smell of rain, more earthy and more concentrated.
People meet it when the first rain arrives after a dry spell, during summer storms, and on paths, fields and gardens where dry soil turns wet. Many people notice it on the breeze just before a shower begins.
Typical settings: first rain after drought, dry soil becoming wet, summer storm.
SmellBook links it to one place page: see it in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Petrichor and rain on dry ground. This claim could not be checked against its source's own words, because no abstract or other summary of the source was available; it says only what is shown in its scope.
Petrichor is narrower than the broader Rain profile: it centers the characteristic earthy smell associated with rain on previously dry ground.
SmellBook records 3 written comparisons with other smells: see them in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: What is the difference between earthy and mineral?, Is fresh the same as clean?, Is citrus a kind of fresh? and Is metallic the same as mineral?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
VERIFIED means the claim rests on a registered published source whose citation SmellBook checked. No abstract or other summary of that source was available, so SmellBook could not compare the claim's wording with the source's own words.
Petrichor and rain on dry ground
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.
How this was found: Broad account. A broad statement about how an aroma forms, how it is studied or what a term means, rather than one measurement. Source: primary study.
I. J. Bear & R. G. Thomas
DOI 10.1038/201993a0Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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IN FRAGRANCE & SPACES
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Petrichor.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
A state says how an entry is met, such as wet, aged or roasted. It does not create a new smell, and it adds no scientific fact by itself: states marked EDITORIAL come from the entry's own records, and only those marked VERIFIED are reported by a VERIFIED claim.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0031 — Petrichorsmellbook:smell:petrichorhttps://smellbook.com/smells/petrichorSmellBook. (2026). Petrichor (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:petrichor. https://smellbook.com/smells/petrichor@misc{smellbook_petrichor_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Petrichor},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:petrichor},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/petrichor}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-petrichor-r3 TI - Petrichor AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/petrichor N1 - SB-0031; smellbook:smell:petrichor; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/petrichor ER -
The citation names revision 3 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Petrichor is narrower than the broader Rain profile: it centers the characteristic earthy smell associated with rain on previously dry ground.
Other entries whose editors linked to Petrichor:
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
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 the evidence coverage report ↗