Playa
PLAYA (a Spanish word meaning " shore "), the name applied in America to a level plain formed of the deposits of a river which has no outlet to the sea or a lake. If at seasons of high water a river floods any area and temporarily converts it into a lake, which subsequently dries up in hot weather, the tract thus left dry is called a playa. The barren Black Rock Desert in north-western Nevada, about 100 miles in length by 15 in breadth, is typical.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)