Terminology
The Spanish word playa literally means "beach". Dry lakes are known by this name in some parts of Mexico and the western United States. This term is also used on the Llano Estacado and other parts of the Southern High Plains.
In South America, the usual term for a dry lake is salar, Spanish for "salt pan".
Pan is the term used in most of South Africa. These may include the small round highveld pans, typical of the Chrissiesmeer area, to the extensive pans of the Northern Cape province, which are sometimes employed for land speed record attempts. It is also used in Australia. Distinguished are salt pans and clay pans.
Hardpan is a dry terminus of an internally drained basin in a dry climate, typically used in the Great Basin of the western US.
In Arabic, an alkali flat is called a sabkha (also spelled sabkhah, subkha or sebkha) or shott (chott).
In Central Asia, a similar "cracked mud" salt flat is known as a takyr.
In Iran salt flats are called kavir.
Read more about this topic: Dry Lake