Hardpan

At the edge of town

The combination of strong wind, lack of vegetation, baking heat, and overgrazing have the unfortunate effect of turning what may have once been tillable soil into a solid, impenetrable surface called hardpan. You can't do much with hardpan- it's as hard and smooth as a parking lot, and extremely difficult to transform into something arable. Wind blows away any seeds or sediments that could potentially rehabilitate the soil, and heavy rains in the summer run off the polished surface, sometimes carving out big gouges in the landscape but never soaking in.