Playas Lakes on High Plains of Texas Panhandle Recognized for Recharge of Aquifers

HRTM rendered at 3 meters spatial resolution from 1 meter USGS NED datasets. Region imaged is ~5,100 square km on the Texas Panhandle, part of a 30,000 square km region which yielded ~7,000 playas. The elevation to color mapping is cyclic, repeating every 10 meters, providing an index to local relief (dark Blue is indexed to “xxx0”). The technique also provides an intrinsic set of contour lines. The playa of the High Plains of the USA contain over 80,000 playas by some estimates. They have been found to be the primary source of water recharging the Ogallala aquifer. Alteration or destruction of playas may be contributing to the precipitous decline in the accessible water within the Ogallala. Recent programs by organizations like the [Playa Lakes Joint Venture](https://pljv.org/playas/playa-science/) are attempting to rejuvenate them. The central zone of each playa presents as a solid color, as it is effectively a temporal wetland, all at the same level. Most playa mapping focuses on the size and shape of those footprints. But the striking aureoles which encircle them actually form the effective "basin" capturing precipitation and directing it down slope to the wetland for eventual recharging of the aquifer.