OASIS .........

The Water in the Desert

An oasis in the desert , sorounded by date trees.

According to many the most precious thing in the world is fresh water. If a person was lost in a desert without any special equipment or supplies, he or she would soon die from lack of water.

            It is therefore not surprising that very few people live in the desert. But some people do. Where do they stay? Obviously, they stay near water reservoirs.

            A place in the desert with a natural supply of fresh water is called an ‘oasis’. An oasis has enough water to support a large variety of plants and animals including human beings..

            Most oases (the plural of ‘oasis’) have underground water sources such as springs or wells. Al-Hasa is the largest oasis in the Middle Eastern country of Saudi Arabia. It has hectares and hectares of palm groves and other crops.

A Oasis, water reservoir is clearly visible from  behind the trees

            But not all oases have a constant supply of water. Some areas have dry channels called ‘wadis’, where springs sometimes flow and at other times of the year they are completely dry. Another important thing  about them is: desert areas at higher elevations sometimes receive extra rain to support plant life.

            In the Sahara, people can live year-round in the oases because the water supply is permanent. The oases allow crops to be watered, and desert temperatures make crops grow quickly. The date palm is the main source of food. However, in its shade grow citrus fruits, figs, peaches, apricots, vegetables, and cereals such as wheat, barley, and millet.

            The Siwa Oasis in western Egypt has about 200 springs. It is a very fertile oasis, and thousands of date palms and olive trees grow there. In fact, the people living in his oasis export dates and olive oil to other places in the world.

A very large Oasis (water reservoir) in the desert