| Willcox Playa | |
|---|---|
 View facing east across the Willcox Playa toward the Dos Cabezas Mountains from a point just east ofCochise, Arizona. | |
  Location in the state of Arizona | |
| Location | Cochise County, Arizona |
| Nearest city | Willcox, Arizona |
| Coordinates | 32°08′28″N109°50′53″W / 32.141°N 109.848°W /32.141; -109.848 |
| Area | 2,369 acres (959 ha) |
| Designated | 1966 |
TheWillcox Playa is a largeendorheic dry lake orsink (playa) adjacent toWillcox, Arizona inCochise County, in the southeast corner of the state. It is part of theSonoran Desertecoregion and is the remnant of aPleistocene erapluvial Lake Cochise. The playa itself is roughly 8 miles (13 km) wide by 10 miles (16 km) long, with an area of approximately 40 square miles (100 km2). Portions of the dry lake bed have been used as a bombing range by the US military. Most of this area is currently used by the Electronic Proving Ground, based atFort Huachuca.[1][2] It was designated aNational Natural Landmark in 1966 for its fossil pollen captured underground, the thousands ofsandhill cranes that roost in the area and the largest diversity oftiger beetles in the United States.[3]
The Willcox Playa is located in the northern region ofSulphur Springs Valley; drainage to the playa from the east is from the connectedDos Cabezas–Chiricahua Mountains; drainage from the southwest is from theDragoon Mountains, and the Little Dragoon Mountains. During the summer, intense solar heating sometimes gives rise to largedust devils, and strong winds from thunderstorms and winter storms can producedust storms rising from the dry lake that can hinder traffic on theInterstate 10 highway.
In the vicinity of the dry lake is the Willcox Playa Wildlife Area administered by theArizona Game and Fish Department. The location boasts rich wildlife, and hosts the annual January birding festival Wings Over Willcox.[4][5]
| International | |
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| National | |
