Fan and playa areas in southern California and adjacent parts of Nevada

In bolsons in the desert regions of southern California and adjacent parts of Nevada, the area underlain by alluvial fan gravels and playa sediments is generally ˜1·2 times the area being eroded to produce those sediments. In certain larger basins in the vicinity of Death Valley, however, the depositional area is only about half the size of the erosional area. This reflects the more active tectonic environment in these bolsons. Of the areas underlain by recent sediments in these bolsons, playas make up 2–6 per cent. Smaller playas are found in the Mojave region, and seem to be associated with sedimentary terranes. Conversely, igneous terranes support larger playas. Larger deviations of playa area from these averages are attributable to incorrect identification of bolson boundaries. Fine sediment is either able to pass through the bolson to the next down stream, or is being collected from areas upstream that were not considered to be part of the system. For example, the playa in Death Valley is unusually large. This is in part because the Death Valley playa has been deformed tectonically so parts of it are now eroding, and in part because the outlet of Lake Tecopa was downcut in the geologically recent past, so sediment once trapped there now reaches Death Valley. The size of the playa in Death Valley is still adjusting to these changes.