Playa: Intermittent Desert Lake on Valley Floors

A playa (also called a dry lake or alkali flat) is a flat-floored desert basin that temporarily fills with water after rain or snowmelt.

Characteristics

• Found in arid/semi-arid regions (e.g., southwestern U.S., Mexico)
• No outlet – water evaporates, leaving dissolved salts
• Surface often cracked, crusty, or covered in salt deposits
• May hold water for days to months, then dry completely

Examples

Death Valley’s Badwater Basin, Bonneville Salt Flats, Black Rock Desert.

Playas are important for mineral extraction, recreation (land sailing), and as analogs for planetary science.