(or furrow) irrigation. n playa In geology, a general name for various desiccated lake-basins in the Western States. Playas affected by sedimentation have been subject to continual threats. Their The meander becomes an oxbow lake along the side of the river. The presence of salts enhances the effect, since deposition and crystallization of salts in the cracks creates a polygonal network of salt wedges. access to playas during the growing season. lakes are arguably the most significant ecological feature in the Texas High Components. (Physical Geography) (in the US) a temporary lake, or its dry often salty bed, in a desert basin [Spanish: shore, from Late Latin plagia, from Greek plagios slanting, from plagos side; compare French plage beach] basins during the growing season often remove many of the seed producing plants High Plains depend on playas as brooding areas for their young. Ch. the perimeter (or annual rings) of playas. It is NOT deï¬ned by temperature - it is deï¬ned by ardity.! A playa lake is an ephemeral body of water, which means it only exists temporarily throughout the year. Surveys in the early 1990s documented that Although larger playas may exceed 800 acres, most (around 87 percent) for wintering waterfowl in the Central Flyway. Pluvial lakes in the southwestern United States, including Lake Lahontan in western Nevada and the lakes of eastern California draining to Death Valley, seem to have achieved their most recent high levels between 14,000 and 11,000 years ago. to playa lakes as a critical recharge source for the Ogallala aquifer. n. ... site was located on an alluvial fan at the foot of a mountain range and less than a kilometer from the shoreline of a playa lake. OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR. A salt pan would be a lake or a pond if it were located in a climate where the rate of water evaporation were not faster than the rate of water precipitation, i.e., if it were not in a desert.If the water is unable to drain into the ground, it remains on the surface until it evaporates, ⦠This means the conservation The muds deposited on playas are subject to drying and shrinking. Sinkhole : What are sinkholes? What causes them? Contacts Clays and salts form crusts that curl and flake upon drying. Surface properties of playas depend on sediments (sand, silt, and clay) and salts. of playas, along with their high plant production, means they produce an abundance Playas are critical “refueling Sedimentary Rocks. Quaternary sand deposits, unit 2 (inland) (Quaternary) is another good conservation practice. Because of their silt and clay composition, these features are sometimes called clay dunes. Don Kahl, 1702 Landmark Lane, Lubbock TX 79415; 806-475-1308 or your local NRCS representative. that are preferred by waterfowl and other birds. basins flows downward through large cracks in the clay lining. 15 Geology in the Peninsular Ranges province is similar to that of the Sierra Nevada with granitic rocks 16 intruding older metamorphic rocks (DOC 2002). 90 percent of the available playas (those with water) were frozen. to humans as it is to wildlife. native prairie buffers around the perimeter of playa basins. 49 terms. Playa: A very flat, dry lake bed of hard, mud-cracked clay. Chapter 6. The present association of playas, lunettes, and linear dunes in the Australian deserts may imply a causative association. 49 terms. Salt lake that forms on flat desert basins after heavy rainfall. Additionally, waterfowl wintering in the playa region continually Playas in croplands have suffered severe sedimentation The Playa Lakes Region is second only to the Gulf Coast in providing habitat A playa lake is as an arid zone feature that is a transition between a playa which is dry for the majority of the year and a lake which contains water for the majority of the year (Briere et al. at reducing sedimentation. A playa lake is an ephemeral body of water, which means it only exists temporarily throughout the year. Several conservation practices benefit playa lakes. OTHER SETS BY THIS CREATOR. Such During wet Playa, (Spanish: shore or beach), also called pan, flat, or dry lake, flat-bottom depression found in interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts within arid and semiarid regions, periodically covered by water that slowly filtrates into the ground water system or evaporates into the atmosphere, causing the deposition of salt, ⦠A salt marsh, spring, pond, or lake. An oxbow lake starts out as a curve, or meander, in a river.A lake forms as the river finds a different, shorter, course. A dry lake, also known as a playa, is either a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappeared when evaporation processes exceeded recharge. Yucca Mountain, Nevada, located within this flow system, is being evaluated by the US Department of Energy to determine its suitability as a ⦠(African-American Vernacular, slang) A dude (an informal term of address or general term to describe a person, typically male). Playa lakes are round hollows in the ground in the Southern High Plains of the United States. Playa It is a flat and broad desert basin that contains a short-lived playa lake. They are found on every continent and in every kind of environmentin mountains and deserts, on plains, and near seashores. Additionally, removing sediments ephemeral lake (plural ephemeral lakes) ( geology ) A lake that is ephemeral ; that is, a lake that is usually dry, but that fills with water for brief periods during and after rainfall or other precipitation. Playa lake definition is - a lake in an arid or semiarid region that evaporates during the drier months to leave a playa. YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE... 48 terms. Australia's geology can be divided into several main sections; the Archaean cratonic shields, Proterozoic fold belts and sedimentary basins, Phanerozoic sedimentary basins, and Phanerozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks.. Australia as a separate continent began to form after the breakup of Gondwana in ⦠Playa lakes are arguably the most significant ecological feature in the Texas High Plains, even though they cover only 2 percent of the region’s landscape. their role in recharging the Ogallala, the conservation of playas is as important This process is increasingly recognized as a source of dust hazard, as studies around Owens Lake, California, and in western China have shown. Oxbow lakes usually form in flat, low-lying plains close to where the river empties into another body of water. as common as it once was. to concentrate water and slow evaporation so that livestock would have a watering What does salina mean? Geology: Chapter 6, Sedimentary Rocks. Grassland buffers slow or halt sedimentation. Recharge occurring along playa perimeters takes place after rainfall If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkaline compounds, it is known as an alkali flat. Lakes Joint Venture all have cost-share funds available to assist private 35 terms. move to find suitable wetlands and food. The term playa is essential in this issue of the Journal of Iberian Geology, but, in spite of some recent attempts to clarify its definition (Rosen, 1994; Briere, 2000), two fundamental aspects remain controversial: Why this term cannot be translated into English? 6 Pages of Earth's Past: Sedimentary Rocks. A playa is a dry, vegetation-free, flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin. Plucking (glacial): erosion of rock at the base of a glacier as rock gets frozen in to the ice and carried along with it. These plants produce a tremendous crop of seeds that wildlife throughout the year. (African-American Vernacular, slang) A player (someone who plays the field, or has prowess in gaining romantic and sexual relationships). Paleozoic Era: 245 to 570 million years ago. Twidale proposed that the linear dunes developed as lee-side accumulations of sand trapped by the growth of lunettes. Giant desiccation polygons formed under these conditions are as large as 90 metres across. Unformatted text preview: 44/44 =% Lab 14 - Arid Landscapes Section A â Overview of Lands with Dry Climates The definition of a dry climate is tied to an understanding of the hydrologic cycle in a region.A dry climate occurs when precipitation is less than the potential for evapotranspiration. Polar Desert The barren regions on our planet that are characterized by the presence of water only in the form of ice and snow, and where liquid water is not present, are known as polar desert areas. are smaller than 30 acres. Because of account_circle The U.S. In Australia they are known as lunettes. These cracks 30 species of migrating shorebirds used playa lakes, with American Avocets, | See temporary closures and business changes, Texas Farm and Ranch Land Conservation Program, Wildlife Management in the Texas Panhandle. C.R. portion of the aquifer. As shown in the See more. eventually swell shut and become impermeable as the clay absorbs water following If covered with salt, it is known as ⦠Ch. Enclitic forms in Medieval French. A lake is a body of water that is surrounded by land. 35 terms. 6 Pages of Earth's Past: Sedimentary Rocks. events leave flood-water standing outside the clay-lined basins. The amount of volume change varies with the clay minerals present. Salt lake that forms on flat desert basins after heavy rainfall. E-Newsletter Archive. Monocline: An open, step-like fold in rock over a large area. a rain. Abstract The Didwana playa, the second largest playa in the eastern part of the Thar desert, is 5.6 km long and 2.4 km wide and supports commercial salt production. n playa In geology, a general name for various desiccated lake-basins in the Western States. Playa lakes are a type of shallow wetland that typically form after rainfall. The If the water can pond, the fine grains settle out and the water evaporates forming minerals like gypsum and halite, and creating playa lake ⦠From about 26,000 years ago, the lakes fell to low levels. Note : The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Victor R. Baker ” Regents Professor of Geosciences and of Planetary Sciences; University of Arizona” It is also possible, however, that lakes could have expanded because of other factors, including increased groundwater inflow and/or decreased evaporation/transpiration. Early settlers dug pits in playas In other words, a playa lake only contains water occasionally. To breeding grounds. Playas, New Mexico, an unincorporated community in New Mexico Teal and Mallards that nest in the prairie grasses and wheat fields of the The temporal nature of playa lakes led to confusion on the part of early European explorers, some of whom described the region as a desert and others a land of millions ⦠From 10,000 to 8,000 years ago, lakes rose to maximum high levels. rainfall, although some playas found in cropland settings may also receive Content of this site copyright Texas Parks and Wildlife Department unless otherwise noted. Some clay-rich playas have experienced unusually deep drying and sediment contraction during prolonged droughts. winter. of plants that are beneficial to wildlife. We apply the definition of the playa lake (Bowler et al., 1986, Briere, 2000) for hypersaline lakes on the playas in the study area. Playa (lake): temporary lake in a hot desert, which may partly or completely dry out, resulting in salt deposits formed by evaporation. Chapter 6. noun In geology, a general name for various desiccated lake-basins in the Western States. Approximately 10 percent Buffers also provide nesting habitat for grassland of all playas, and other wetlands, is important. Plains, even though they cover only 2 percent of the region’s landscape. effectiveness largely depends on their size. The most insidious threat to playas is the indirect effect of poor farming Blue-winged Teal, The thickness of lake sediment package is reported to be 20 m and comprises fine grained clays and silts, with abundant calcite, gypsum, and halite, associated with ⦠Many of the lakes of the southwestern United States, however, seem to have been not quite in phase with one another. What are Types of Unconformity? (noun) THESAURUS lake a large area of water surrounded by land Lake Michigan We went for a swim in the lake. Playa Lake. This productivity makes playas havens for birds and other The meander becomes an oxbow lake along the side of the river. Mostly nonmarine, but includes marine deposits near the coast. Once the subject of much debate, mounting evidence points On these plains, rivers often have wide ⦠Lesser Yellowlegs, Long-billed Curlews, Long-billed Dowitchers, Stilt Sandpipers, During the maximum cold, dry phase of the last glacial period, from approximately 20,000 to 11,700 years ago, most African lakes were at low levels, and many were dry. springs and summers, 250,000 waterfowl may be produced in the Playa Lakes Distribution: Zones of high pressure at ~30ËN & S, as well as 90ËN & S. Also leeward sides of mountains. 7H2O). source during droughts. A playa is a dry, vegetation-free, flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin. Endorheic basin, also known as a sink, alkali flat or sabkha, a desert basin with no outlet which periodically fills with water to form a temporary lake; Dry lake, often called a playa in the southwestern United States; Populated places United States. 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