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Physical Processes

Playa Formation

Geomorphology

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The development of a flat, sediment-floored basin at the lowest point of an arid, closed drainage system, formed as intermittent runoff collects in the basin and evaporates entirely, leaving behind a smooth surface of fine mud and, where groundwater has carried them in, evaporite salts. A playa can remain dry for years between rare flooding events, and where salt content is high enough it can form a hard, crusted salt flat such as Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni.

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