regolith

The layer of loose rock resting on bedrock, constituting the surface of most land.

‘Blanket-rock’: in petrography, a term applied by Merrill (1897) to the covering of loose material resting upon the solid rocks of the globe. It is derived from the decay of rocks, accumulations of vegetation, talus, debris, and sediments of all kinds.

The layer of loose rock, dust, sand, and soil, resting on the bedrock, that constitutes the surface layer of most dry land on earth, the moon, and other large solid aggregated celestial objects. There can also be sub-marine regolith.)