also: こうち
noun
wasteland; wilderness; abandoned land
Refers to land that is barren, uncultivated, or left to ruin, often with a nuance of desolation.
その地域は戦争で荒地になってしまった。
The area became a wasteland because of the war.
荒地を開墾して畑にした。
They reclaimed the wasteland and turned it into a field.
Alternate spelling using okurigana, also read as あれち.
Compound of 荒れる (areru, 'to become rough, wild') + 地 (chi, 'land'). The reading こうち is an older Sino-Japanese reading of the same kanji.