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For the American R&B trio, see Playa (band) , an endorheic desert lake in South Australia ]] An alkali flat, also known as '''playa''' or '''sabkha''', is a dry lakebed, generally the shore of, or remnant of, an Endorheic Lake . Such flats consist of fine-grained Sediment s infused with Alkali Salt s. Their surface is generally very dry, hard and smooth in the summer months, but wet and very soft in the winter months. While the playa itself will be devoid of vegetation, they are commonly ringed by Shadscale , Saltbrush and other salt-tolerant plants that provide critical winter fodder for Livestock and other Herbivore s. Many playas contain shallow lakes in the winter, especially during wet years. If the layer of water is thin and is moved around the playa by the wind, an exceedingly hard and smooth surface can develop. Thicker layers of water can result in a "cracked-mud" surface. Too little water can result in dune formation. The extremely flat, smooth, and hard surfaces of playas make them ideal surfaces for driving Motor Vehicle s on. Large-sized playas are further excellent spots for pursuing Land Speed Record s, as the smoothness of the surface allows low-clearance vehicles to travel very fast without risk of disruption by surface irregularities, and the course of travel does not need to be too precise to avoid obstacles. The playas at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and Black Rock Desert in Nevada have both been used for setting land speed records. The latter is also the site of the annual Burning Man art and music festival. Salar De Uyuni in Bolivia , near Potosà , is the largest salt flat in the world (12,000 km&2, about 300 times bigger than the Bonneville Salt Flats). TERMINOLOGY The Spanish word ''playa'' () literally means " Beach ". Alkali flats are known by this name in some parts of Mexico and the western United States ( Pronounced ). On the Llano Estacado and other parts of the Southern High Plains , ''playa'' refers to a Playa Lake , a smaller seasonal depression. In Arabic , an alkali flat is called a ''sabkha'' (also spelled ''sabkhah'', sometimes ''sebkha'') or ''shott''. SEE ALSO |
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