The Willcox Playa is a large endorheic dry lake or sink

Sink (geography)

A geographic sink is a depression within an endorheic basin where water collects with no visible outlet. Instead of discharging, the collected water is lost due to evaporation and/or penetration...

 (playa) in Cochise County

Cochise County, Arizona

-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*78.5% White*4.2% Black*1.2% Native American*1.9% Asian*0.3% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*4.0% Two or more races*9.6% Other races*32.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...

. It is located south of and adjacent to Willcox, Arizona

Willcox, Arizona

Willcox is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 3,769. Professional wrestler Ted Dibiase lived his formative years in Willcox, as did singer Tanya Tucker.-History:...

, in the Sonoran Desert

Sonoran Desert

The Sonoran Desert is a North American desert which straddles part of the United States-Mexico border and covers large parts of the U.S. states of Arizona and California and the northwest Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California, and Baja California Sur. It is one of the largest and hottest...

 ecoregion

Ecoregion

An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...

. It is the remnant of Pleistocene

Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....

 pluvial Lake

Pluvial lake

A pluvial lake is a landlocked basin which fills with rainwater during times of glaciation, when precipitation is higher. Pluvial lakes that have since evaporated and dried out may also be referred to as paleolakes.-Geology:...

 Cochise. Portions of the dry lake bed have been used as a bombing range by the USA military.

The Willcox Playa is located in the northern region of the Sulphur Springs Valley

Sulphur Springs Valley

The Sulphur Springs Valley is a major valley in the eastern half of Cochise County, Arizona. The valley covers an approximated vertical rectangle west of the Chiricahua Mountains–Dos Cabezas Mountains complex; the Chiricahua's have a valley to the northeast, San Simon Valley, and to the southeast,...

; drainage to the playa from the east is from the connected Dos Cabezas

Dos Cabezas Mountains

The Dos Cabezas Mountains are a mountain range in southeasternmost Arizona, USA. The Dos Cabezas Mountains Wilderness lies east of Willcox, Arizona and south of Bowie, Arizona in Cochise County...

-Chiricahua Mountains

Chiricahua Mountains

The Chiricahua Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Arizona which are part of the Basin and Range province of the southwest, and part of the Coronado National Forest...

; drainage from the southwest is from the Dragoon Mountains

Dragoon Mountains

Dragoon Mountains are a range of mountains located in Cochise County, Arizona. The range is about 25 mi long, running on an axis extending south-south east through Willcox.- Geography :...

, and the Little Dragoon Mountains. During the summer, intense solar heating sometimes gives rise to large dust devils

Dust Devils

Dust Devils is an independently published role-playing game set in the Old West, written by Matt Snyder. It was voted the 2002 Indie RPG of the Year; it also won the Best Synergy of Game and Rules category, as well as placing in the Best Production and Most Innovative Game categories.The game uses...

, and strong winds from thunderstorms and winter storms can produce dust storms rising from the dry lake that can hinder traffic on the Interstate 10

Interstate 10

Interstate 10 is the fourth-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, after I-90, I-80, and I-40. It is the southernmost east–west, coast-to-coast Interstate Highway, although I-4 and I-8 are further south. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 in Santa Monica,...

 highway.

Willcox Playa Wildlife Area

In the vicinity of the dry lake is the Willcox Playa Wildlife Area administered by the Arizona Game and Fish Department

Arizona Game and Fish Department

The Arizona Game and Fish Department is a state agency of Arizona, headquartered in Phoenix. The agency is tasked with conserving, enhancing, and restoring Arizona's diverse wildlife resources and habitats through aggressive protection and management programs...

. The location boasts rich wildlife, including an annual twitcher festival called "Wings Over Willcox".