playa
Dry lake bed
A playa is a dry lakebed in a desert basin, typically flat and cracked, that occasionally fills with shallow water after heavy rains.
The term comes from Spanish and is used mainly in the American Southwest: The playa stretched white and featureless to the horizon.
In slang, playa is an alternate spelling of player—someone skilled at romantic conquest or street success: He thinks he's a playa.
Acid-neutralizing ionic compound
- brineWater saturated with sodium
- haliteCrystalline sodium chloride ore
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
- hypersalineExcessively high salt concentration
saline · minerals · natron · brackish · sodium · chloride · evaporite · crust
Complete removal of moisture
- crackedHaving surface fractures
- sunbakedDried by solar heat
- parchedExtremely dry or thirsty
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
barren · dust · hardpan · desolate · scorched · dry · waterless · arid
Concave water receptacle
- claypanDense impermeable soil layer
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- siltWaterborne earth particles
- mudflatExposed shore sediment
evaporite · terminal · pluvial · tufa · alluvial · depression · hydrology · limnology
Study of terrain formation
- quaternaryFourth-order or four-bonded
- tectonicsStudy of crustal deformation
- sedimentaryFormed from deposited material
- gypsumHydrated calcium sulfate
caliche · paleoclimate · landform · stratigraphy · anhydrite · loess · bedrock · erosion
alkali
Acid-neutralizing ionic compound
- brineWater saturated with sodium
- haliteCrystalline sodium chloride ore
- crystallizationForming ordered solid structure
hypersaline · saline · minerals · natron · brackish · sodium · chloride · evaporite · crust · white
desiccation
Complete removal of moisture
drought · barren · dust · hardpan · desolate · scorched · dry · waterless · arid · bleached
basin
Concave water receptacle
- claypanDense impermeable soil layer
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- siltWaterborne earth particles
mudflat · evaporite · terminal · pluvial · tufa · alluvial · depression · hydrology · limnology · shoreline
geomorphology
Study of terrain formation
- quaternaryFourth-order or four-bonded
- tectonicsStudy of crustal deformation
- sedimentaryFormed from deposited material
gypsum · caliche · paleoclimate · landform · stratigraphy · anhydrite · loess · bedrock · erosion · deposition
beach
Sandy waterside margin
coast · cove · bay · inlet · waterfront · seashore · shoreline · promenade · boardwalk · sunbathing