Playas are ephemeral, closed-basin wetlands that are important zones of recharge to the High Plains (or Ogallala) aquifer and critical habitat for birds and other wildlife in the otherwise semiarid, shortgrass prairie and agricultural land- scape.
Why are playa lakes important to aquifers in Texas?
Playas also help support the surrounding agriculture by providing irrigation water and seasonally recharging the Ogallala Aquifer. This famous aquifer underlies the Southern High Plains and is being used for irrigation and drinking water faster than it is being replenished.
Why are playa lakes important?
What is Important About Playa Lakes. Playa lakes are a critical source of water in a region that receives less than 20 inches of rainfall on average every year. They are an important source of groundwater recharge for the Ogallala aquifer.
What is the Texas Playa conservation initiative doing to help rebuild these habitats?
The Texas Playa Conservation Initiative are working to restore playas in the Panhandle region of North Texas. The restoration facilitates the recharge of the Ogallala Aquifer, which has a major impact on natural water supply for the region.
How is the Ogallala Aquifer recharged?
As with most aquifers it receives recharge [new] water primarily through infiltration of rain and snow melt from the surface. The recharge water fills fractures and interstices (open spaces between rock particles) in the rock.
What role does a playa lake play in Texas?
Playa lakes are a significant landform found in arid and semiarid climates. They provide water for wildlife, wetlands for waterfowl, flood control for municipalities, and many yield commercial quantities of evaporite minerals.
What is a playa lake and what role does it play?
Playas are shallow, round water catchment areas found at the lowest point in a watershed. These basins have a layer of clay soil that enables recharge, says Ken Rainwater, who directs the Water Resources Center at Texas Tech.
What does it mean to be playa?
playa (plural playas) (African-American Vernacular, slang) A dude (an informal term of address or general term to describe a person, typically male).
How do playas function?
Playas—also called mud holes, buffalo wallows, and lagoons—are relatively small, round, shallow depressions found primarily in the western Great Plains. Their basins are lined with clay soil, which collects and holds water from rainfall and runoff, creating temporary lakes.
Does playa mean beach?
playa → beach, shore.
How do playas form?
Playa Lakes are dry lakebeds located in arid basins or valleys. In general, they form when water evaporates from a lake. As the water evaporates, it leaves behind minerals, which are called evaporites.
What is a playa basin?
A dry lake bed, also known as a playa, is a basin or depression that formerly contained a standing surface water body, which disappeared when evaporation processes exceeded recharge. If the floor of a dry lake is covered by deposits of alkaline compounds, it is known as an alkali flat.
What kinds of aquatic ecosystems exist in groundwater?
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems are ecosystems that are supported by groundwater. These places include springs and seeps, caves and karst systems, and deep-rooted plant communities (phreatophytes). In many cases, rivers, wetlands, and lakes are also included.
What is being done to protect the Ogallala Aquifer?
By restoring soils and grasslands, farmers in the Texas Panhandle are conserving the last water beneath their feet.
How long will it take to recharge the Ogallala Aquifer?
6,000 years
And scientists say it will take natural processes 6,000 years to refill the reservoir. The challenge of the Ogallala is how to manage human demands on the layer of water that sprawls underneath parts of eight states from South Dakota to Texas.
What is the main importance of the Ogallala Aquifer quizlet?
What is the main importance of the Ogallala aquifer? It is an important source of irrigation water.
Where are playa lakes found in Texas?
Texas High Plains
Approximately 19,300 playas are found in the Texas High Plains, giving us the highest density of playas in North America. The lake shown to the left is within cropland. Compared to other wetlands, playas go through frequent, unpredictable, wet/dry cycles.
Which is the largest playa in the world?
The Salar de Uyuni
The Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia is the largest playa lake in the world with an area of 4,085 square miles.
Is a playa a lake?
A playa is a dry, vegetation-free, flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin. It is a location where ephemeral lakes form during wet periods, and is underlain by stratified clay, silt, and sand, and commonly, soluble salts.
What is the playa made of?
Since 1990, Burning Man has been held on the Black Rock Desert playa, an inhospitable, ancient lake flat made of alkaline dust. As the event has grown from a few hundred to tens of thousands of attendees, the increased vehicle and foot traffic has led to more frequent dust storms.
What minerals are commonly found in and around playas?
Dehydrated minerals, such as anhydrite (CaSO4), occur on surface areas protected against flooding and in wet saline areas. Some playas also contain exotic minerals. The Death Valley playa is famous for borate minerals, including borax (Na2B4O7·10H2O) and Meyerhofferite (Ca2B6O11·7H2O).