Playas and parallel ranges, Nevada

/in /by

Numerous dry lake beds, or playas, occupy the basins of the Basin and Range Province; they used to be substantial lakes during the wetter climates of the Pleistocene. They are typically very light colored, as they consist of fine-grained clastic material along with salts, deposited during evaporation. A playa occupies the foreground of this photo. Behind it are a series of tilted fault-block ranges. Note the playa in the background. (ID: Dep-27)

pluvial lakes, crustal extension