The scent of rain on dry earth has a name: petrichor.

from Greek petros “stone” + ichor “the fluid that is supposed to flow in the veins of the gods in Greek mythology”

According to wikipedia, two Australian researchers came up with the word in 1964 when writing an article in Nature.

“Petrichor, the name for the smell of rain on dry ground, is from oils given off by vegetation, absorbed onto neighboring surfaces, and released into the air after a first rain.” Matthew Bettelheim; Nature’s Laboratory; Shasta Parent (Mt Shasta, California); Jan 2002.

Via bestofwikipedia.