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What is a playa? How did playas form? What is a water shed? What's special about playa soil? What kind of plants live in playa? Are playas important to birds? How do playas help the aquifer? |
About Playas
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What is a playa? How did playas form? What is a water shed? What's special about playa soil? What kind of plants live in playa? Are playas important to birds? How do playas help the aquifer? |
| A playa lake is a naturally occuring
wetland that contains water only seasonally. When it rains, they are wet. When
it doesn't rain, they are dry. There are approximately 25,000 of these usually-shallow lakes (about a foot deep) in the arid and semi-arid region of the Southern Great Plains of Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The greatest concentration of these playa lakes occurs in the High Plains of Texas. |
Rural Playa Lake |
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Scientists are not really sure how playas formed. Early researchers believed the formation of playas was related to glacial fluctuation. Settlers thought playas were buffalo wallows or wind-blown formations. A third theory is that playas are formed when water collects in a natural depression. Over time, a chemical reaction dissolves the underlying caliche layer, the land surface subsides (sinks), and a playa is created. |
| Playas are low places in areas that already seem very flat. Rainwater naturally drains from the higher elevations to the lower elevation – and fills the playa basin. Playas can be from 1 to 500 acres in size. The majority of them are less than 30 acres across. Some hold permanent water, most are seasonal, and others stay dry for years. Runoff from spring and fall rain showers is the main source of water to fill these watersheds. High temperatures and winds cause the water to evaporate at high rates. |  |
What's special about playa soil?
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Playa soil is a soil that in its undrained condition is saturated, flooded, ponded long enough during the growing season to develop anaerobic conditions that favor the growth and regeneration of hydrophilic vegetation. Wetland soil can be classified as mineral soil, or organic, or peat soil. |
| Upland soil is soil that is not formed under hydric (or under water) conditions. |  |
Click here to learn about Aquifer Recharge
What kinds of plants live in playas?
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Periodic flooding and drying of
playas allows a diverse and productive community of plants. Even when playas are dry, they
provide a diversity of habitat for wildlife in an otherwise uniform prairie or
agricultural landscape. In wet years, increased cover and seed produced increase the likelihood of duck survival during the winter. Plant cover protects ducks and native seeds provide much-needed proteins, energy, and minerals. The most important plants for ducks include barnyard grass, willow smartweed and pink smartweed. Land owners are encouraged to manage native plants during the growing season (April 1 – October 30) and maintain about 1 foot of water in the lake during winter to ensure continual use of the playa by ducks. |
| Common Flora of the Playa Lakes is a field guide for walkers, bird watchers, and other naturalists who enjoy exploring playa lakes. Seventy-two plant species are pictured and field identification characteristics are described. |
Are playas important to birds?
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The Playa Lakes Region provide an important stopover site for many migratory birds. These include cranes, geese, ducks, and shorebirds. Many shorebirds winter in South and Central America each year and travel great distances to their breeding grounds in the north, often Alaska and Canada. |
How do playas help the aquifer?
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A playa’s center is lined with a layer of clay that has been deposited as surface water in the form of rainfall. The basin’s outer edge, which is not covered by clay, is porous and allows water to percolate down through the soil to recharge (refill) the underlying aquifer. Studies show that 15 to 57 percent of rain water percolates back underground. |
