Elevation-Derived Hydrography READ Rules: Playa

The flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin, generally devoid of vegetation (Figure 59).

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Imagery and a map depicting a playa. — **Figure 59.** Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, California, is an example of Playa feature. Source data are from the NHD (U.S. Geological Survey, 2020), which is used to provide examples of hydrographic feature types but may not have the same density and other characteristics of elevation-derived hydrography.

Delineation

The limit of Playa is the extent of the lowest part of the basin.

Representation Rules

Delineate features as points, lines, or polygons based on their area or length along different axes (Table 29).

**Table 29.** Playa Representation Rules.
Kind of feature object	Area	Shortest Axis	Longest Axis
0-dimensional (point)	--	--	--
1-dimensional (line)	--	--	--
2-dimensional (polygon)	greater than 0	--	--

Special Conditions

None.

Data Extraction

Capture Conditions

If Playa is greater than or equal to 1 acre (4,000 square meters),

then capture.

Attribute Information

FClass 1—Hydrography feature defined within the collection criteria of the elevation-derived hydrography specifications.
FCode 36100—Playa (the flat area at the lowest part of an undrained desert basin, generally devoid of vegetation).
EClass 0— Not used to create elevation derivatives.

Source Interpretation Guidelines

A Sink feature shall be placed at the lowest point of elevation in a Playa feature.