One late afternoon in mid-February John Roley, surveyed the deep cracks and fissures forming an intricate lattice pattern in his land’s soil. He stood in the middle of a restored, dry playa lake — a saucer-shaped depression surrounded by a bed of sun-dried spikerush and pink smartweed. Restoring his playa was a major step in helping him enhance habitat quality and secure future groundwater — a decision Roley knew would be beneficial for both people and wildlife.
Playas, also known as mud holes or buffalo wallows, are temporary wetlands found at the lowest point of a watershed. The round, shallow basins are lined with clay soil that collects and holds rainfall and runoff.
Playas are also recharge wetlands, meaning water flows through them to the underlying aquifer. After a rainstorm, a healthy playa funnels water down to the Ogallala Aquifer through large cracks in the soil; then as the clay becomes wet and swells, the playa holds water, becoming a productive ecosystem supporting wildlife and livestock.
To the casual observer, the Texas Panhandle is an unlikely place for a wetland to occur, but there are estimated to be more than 23,000 playas in the state.
Read how more Texas rancher are getting the message about the Panhandle’s secret lakes >>
The article by Joe Richards was published in the August/September 2026 issue of Texas Parks & Wildlife’s Outdoor Magazine.