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Takir (soil)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Takir (takyr) (Russian: такыр, originally from Kazakh or another Turkic language) meaning "smooth, even, or bare", is a type of relief occurring in the deserts of Central Asia, similar to a salt flat in the southwestern United States. A takyr is usually formed in a shallow depressed area with a heavy clay soil, which is submerged by water after seasonal rains. After the water evaporates, a dried crust with fissures forms on the surface. The crust is often colonized by filamentous cyanobacteria.
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In the southwestern U.S. "takyrs" are known as "playas" or "salt flats", in Arab countries as "sabkha".