![Oasis and desert (49373993363)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Oasis_and_desert_%2849373993363%29.jpg)
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
or semi-desert environment
[Battesti, Vincent (2005) Jardins au désert: Évolution des pratiques et savoirs oasiens: Jérid tunisien. Paris: IRD éditions.]
. that sustains plant life and provides habitat for animals. Surface water may be present, or water may only be accessible from wells or underground channels created by humans. In geography, an oasis may be a current or past rest stop on a transportation route, or less-than-verdant location that nonetheless provides access to underground water through deep wells created and maintained by humans.
The word ''oasis'' came into English from la, oasis, from grc, ὄασις, , which in turn is a direct borrowing from
Demotic Egyptian
Demotic (from grc, δημοτικός ''dēmotikós'', 'popular') is the ancient Egyptian script derived from northern forms of hieratic used in the Nile Delta, and the stage of the Egyptian language written in this script, following Late Egypt ...
. The word for ''oasis'' in the latter-attested
Coptic language
Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Coptic ...
(the descendant of Demotic Egyptian) is ''wahe'' or ''ouahe'' which means a "dwelling place".
Oasis in Arabic is ''al-wāḥat'' ( واحه ).
Description
Oases develop in “
hydrologically
Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...
favored” locations that have attributes such as a high
water table
The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated.
T ...
, seasonal lakes, or blockaded
wadis
Wadi ( ar, وَادِي, wādī), alternatively ''wād'' ( ar, وَاد), North African Arabic Oued, is the Arabic term traditionally referring to a valley. In some instances, it may refer to a wet (ephemeral) riverbed that contains water onl ...
. Oases are made when sources of freshwater, such as underground rivers or
aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...
s, irrigate the surface naturally or via man-made wells.
The presence of water on the surface or underground is necessary and the local or regional management of this essential resource is strategic, but not sufficient to create such areas: continuous human work and know-how (a technical and social culture) are essential to maintain such ecosystems.
[Vincent Battesti, The Power of a Disappearance: Water in the Jerid region of Tunisia ''in'' B. R. Johnston ''et al.'' (eds), ''Water, Cultural Diversity & Global Environmental Change: Emerging Trends, Sustainable Futures?'', 2012, UNESCO/Springer, ](_blank)
. Stereotypically, an oasis has a “central pool of open water surrounded by a ring of water-dependent shrubs and trees…which are in turn encircled by an outlying transition zone to desert plants.”
Rain showers provide subterranean water to sustain natural oases, such as the
Tuat
Tuat, or Touat, is a natural region of desert in central Algeria that contains a string of small oases. In the past, the oases were important for caravans crossing the Sahara.
Geography
Tuat lies to the south of the Grand Erg Occidental, to t ...
. Substrata of impermeable rock and stone can trap water and retain it in pockets, or on long faulting subsurface ridges or volcanic dikes water can collect and percolate to the surface. Any incidence of water is then used by
migrating bird
Bird migration is the regular seasonal movement, often north and south along a flyway, between breeding and wintering grounds. Many species of bird migrate. Migration carries high costs in predation and mortality, including from hunting by ...
s, which also pass seeds with their droppings which will grow at the water's edge forming an oasis. It can also be used to plant crops.
Oases in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
cover about , however, they support the livelihood of about 10 million inhabitants.
The stark ratio of oasis to desert land in the world means that the oasis
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
is “relatively minute, rare and precious.”
There are 90 “major oases” within the Sahara Desert.
Some of their fertility may derive from irrigation systems called ''
foggaras
A qanat or kārīz is a system for transporting water from an aquifer or water well to the surface, through an underground aqueduct; the system originated approximately 3,000 BC in what is now Iran. The function is essentially the same across ...
'', ''khettaras,'' ''lkhttarts'', or a variety of other regional names''.''
In some oases systems, there is “a geometrical system of raised channels that release controlled amounts of the water into individual plots, soaking the soil.”
![Canal of irrigation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Canal_of_irrigation.jpg)
Oases often have human histories that are measured in millennia. Archeological digs at
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi ( he, עֵין גֶּדִי, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "spring of the kid", is an oasis, an archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi, a kib ...
in the Dead Sea Valley have found evidence of settlement dating to 6,000 BC.
Al-Ahsa on the Arabian Peninsula shows evidence of human residence dating to the
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
.
Anthropologically, the oasis is “an area of sedentary life, which associates the city
'medina''or village
'ksar''.html" ;"title="ksar.html" ;"title="'ksar">'ksar''">ksar.html" ;"title="'ksar">'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical importance for trade and transportation routes in desert areas; caravans must travel via oases so that supplies of water and food can be replenished. Thus, political or military control of an oasis has in many cases meant control of trade on a particular route. For example, the oases of Awjila,
Ghadames
Ghadames or Ghadamis ( Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.
The i ...
and Kufra, situated in modern-day Libya, have at various times been vital to both north–south and east–west Trans-Saharan trade, trade in the Sahara Desert. The location of oases also informed the Darb El Arba'īn trade route from Sudan to Egypt, as well as the caravan route from the
Niger River
The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...
to
Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
, Morocco.
The
Silk Road
The Silk Road () was a network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century. Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles), it played a central role in facilitating economic, cultural, political, and reli ...
“traced its course from water hole to water hole, relying on oasis communities such as
Turpan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
in China and
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
in Uzbekistan.”
According to the United Nations, “Oases are at the very heart of the overall development of peri-Saharan countries due to their geographical location and the fact they are preferred migration routes in times of famine or insecurity in the region.”
Oases in
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
, on the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
near the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
, vary somewhat from the Saharan form. While still located in an arid or semi-arid zone with a date palm overstory, these oases are usually located ''below plateaus'' and “watered either by springs or by
''aflaj'', tunnel systems dug into the ground or carved into the rock to tap underground aquifers.” This rainwater harvesting system “never developed a serious salinity problem.”
![Khattara](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Khattara.png)
In the drylands of southwestern North America, there is a habitat form called Palm Oasis (alternately Palm Series or Oasis Scrub Woodland) that has the native
California fan palm
''Washingtonia filifera'', the desert fan palm, California fan palm, or California palm,Flora of North America Association. ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico Volume 22: Magnoliophyta: Alismatidae, Arecidae, Commelinidae (in Part), and Zi ...
as the overstory species.
These Palm Oases can be found in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
,
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
, and
Sonora
Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...
.
Agroforestry
![Bled El Hadhar valley in Tozeur, Tunisia (Djerid Oasis)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/Bled_El_Hadhar_valley_in_Tozeur%2C_Tunisia_%28Djerid_Oasis%29.jpg)
People who live in an oasis must manage land and water use carefully. The most important plant in an oasis is the date palm (
''Phoenix dactylifera'' L.), which forms the
upper layer. These palm trees provide shade for smaller understory trees like
apricot
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually, an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
s,
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
* Play date, a ...
,
figs
The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
,
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
s, and
peach
The peach (''Prunus persica'') is a deciduous tree first domesticated and cultivated in Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It bears edible juicy fruits with various characteristics, most called peaches and others (the glossy-skinned, non-fu ...
trees, which form the middle layer. Market-garden vegetables, some cereals (such as
sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
,
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
,
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...
, and
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
), and/or mixed animal
fodder
Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food g ...
, are grown in the bottom layer where there is more moisture.
The oasis is integrated into its desert environment through an often close association with nomadic
transhumant
Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...
livestock farming (very often pastoral and sedentary populations are clearly distinguished). The fertility of the oasis soil is restored by “cyclic organic inputs of animal origin.”
In summary, an oasis palm grove is a highly anthropized and irrigated area that supports a traditionally intensive and polyculture-based agriculture.
Responding to environmental constraints, the three strata create what is called the "
oasis effect
The oasis effect refers to the creation of a local microclimate that is cooler than the surrounding Arid, dry area due to evaporation or evapotranspiration of a water source or plant life and higher albedo of plant life than bare ground. The oasis ...
."
The three layers and all their interaction points create a variety of combinations of “horizontal wind speed, relative air temperature and relative air humidity.”
The plantings—through a
virtuous cycle of wind reduction, increased shade and
evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration (ET) is the combined processes by which water moves from the earth’s surface into the atmosphere. It covers both water evaporation (movement of water to the air directly from soil, canopies, and water bodies) and transpi ...
—create a
microclimate
A microclimate (or micro-climate) is a local set of atmospheric conditions that differ from those in the surrounding areas, often with a slight difference but sometimes with a substantial one. The term may refer to areas as small as a few squ ...
favorable to crops; “measurements taken in different oases have showed that the potential evapotranspiration of the areas was reduced by 30 to 50 percent within the oasis.”
The keystone date palm trees are “a main income source and staple food for local populations in many countries in which they are cultivated, and have played significant roles in the economy, society, and environment of those countries.” Challenges for date palm oasis polycultures include “low rainfall, high temperatures, water resources often high in salt content, and high incidence of pests.”
Distressed systems
Many historic oases have struggled with drought and inadequate maintenance.
According to a United Nations report on the future of oases in the Sahara and
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
, “Increasingly…oases are subject to various pressures, heavily influenced by the effects of climate change, decreasing groundwater levels and a gradual loss of cultural heritage due to a fading historical memory concerning traditional water management techniques. These natural pressures are compounded by demographic pressures and the introduction of modern water pumping techniques that can disrupt traditional resource management schemes, particularly in the North Saharan oases.”
For example, five historic oases in the
Western Desert of Egypt (
Kharga
The Kharga Oasis (Arabic: , ) ; Coptic: ( "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or ...
,
Dakhla,
Farafra
The Farafra depression ( ar, واحة الفرافرة, ) is a geological depression, the second biggest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Western ...
,
Baharyia, and
Siwa) once had “flowing spring and wells” but due to the decline of groundwater heads because of overuse for land reclamation projects those water sources are no more and the oases suffer as a result.
Morocco has lost two-thirds of its oasis habitat over the last 100 years due to heat, drought, and water scarcity.
The
Ferkla Oases in Morocco once drew on water from the Ferkla, Sat and Tangarfa Rivers but they are now dry but for a few days a year.
List of places called oases
Old World oases
*
Kharga Oasis
The Kharga Oasis (Arabic: , ) ; Coptic: ( "Oasis of Hib", "Oasis of Psoi") is the southernmost of Egypt's five western oases. It is located in the Western Desert, about 200 km (125 miles) to the west of the Nile valley. "Kharga" or ...
, Egypt
* Al-Qatif and Al Ahsa - Saudi Arabia
*
Al-Ula Oasis, Saudi Arabia
* Al Ain - UAE
*
Buraimi Oasis
Tawam ( ar, تَوَام, Tawām), also Tuwwam, Tu'am, or "Al-Buraimi Oasis" ( ar, وَاحَة ٱلْبُرَيْمِي, Wāḥat Al-Buraymī), is a historical oasis region in Eastern Arabia that stretched from, or was located between, the Weste ...
,
Maghta, and
Bahla - Oman
*
Bahariya Oasis
El-Wahat el-Bahariya or el-Bahariya ( ar, الواحات البحرية "''El-Wāḥāt El-Baḥrīya''", "the Northern Oases"); is a Depression (geology), depression and a naturally rich oasis in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert of Egypt ...
,
Farafra
The Farafra depression ( ar, واحة الفرافرة, ) is a geological depression, the second biggest by size in Western Egypt and the smallest by population, near latitude 27.06° north and longitude 27.97° east. It is in the large Western ...
, and
Siwa Oasis
The Siwa Oasis ( ar, واحة سيوة, ''Wāḥat Sīwah,'' ) is an urban oasis in Egypt; between the Qattara Depression and the Great Sand Sea in the Western Desert (Egypt), Western Desert, 50 km (30 mi) east of the Libyan Egypt–Li ...
- Egypt
*
Ghadames
Ghadames or Ghadamis ( Berber: ''ʕadémis''; ar, غدامس, Libyan vernacular: ''ɣdāməs'', Latin: ''Cidamus, Cydamus'', it, Gadames) is an oasis Berber town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya.
The i ...
and Kufra - Libya
*
Jalo Oasis
Jalo Oasis (or Jalu, or Gialo) is an oasis in Cyrenaica, Libya, located west of the Great Sand Sea and about 250 km south-east of the Gulf of Sidra. Quite large, long and up to wide, it supports a number of settlements, the largest of whic ...
- Libya
*
Ouargla
Ouargla ( Berber: Wargrən, ar, ورقلة) is the capital city of Ouargla Province in the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria. It has a flourishing petroleum industry and hosts one of Algeria's universities, the University of Ouargla. The commune ...
, Taut, and
Timimoun
Timimoun ( ar, ﺗﻴﻤﻴﻤﻮن) is a town and commune, and capital of Timimoun District, in Adrar Province, south-central Algeria. According to the 2008 census it has a population of 33,060, up from 28,595 in 1998, with an annual growth rate ...
- Algeria
* Tozeur and Tamerza - Tunisia
*
Ourzazat - Morocco
*
Kebili Oasis, Tunisia
*
Biskra Oasis, Algeria
*
Khorezm Oasis
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ...
, Central Asia
*
Tafilalt
Tafilalt or Tafilet (; ar, تافيلالت), historically Sijilmasa, is a region and the largest oasis in Morocco.
Etymology
The word "Tafilalt" is an Amazigh word and it means "Jug", which is specifically a pottery jar used to store water.
H ...
, Morocco
*
Seba Oasis
Sabha, or Sebha ( ar, سبها, Sebhā), is an oasis city in southwestern Libya, approximately south of Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. It was historically the capital of the Fezzan region and the Fezzan-Ghadames (French Administration), Military Terri ...
, Sabha, Libya
*
Oasis of Ghouta, Syria
*
Wadi Rum
Wadi Rum ( ar, وادي رم ''Wādī Ramm'', also ''Wādī al-Ramm''), known also as the Valley of the Moon ( ar, وادي القمر ''Wādī al-Qamar''), is a valley cut into the sandstone and granite rock in southern Jordan, about to the east ...
, Jordan
* Inaren, Morocco
*
Gafsa Oases
Gafsa Oases (Arabic: واحة قفصة, French: ''Oasis de Gafsa'') is a cluster of oasis sites (Sakdoud, Ksar, Lela, Gafsa and El Guettar) in southwestern Tunisia, near the northern edge of the Sahara Desert. The Gafsa Oases were known to the an ...
, Tunisia
*
Ghout Oasis, Algeria
*
Crescent Lake,
Dunhuang
Dunhuang () is a county-level city in Northwestern Gansu Province, Western China. According to the 2010 Chinese census, the city has a population of 186,027, though 2019 estimates put the city's population at about 191,800. Dunhuang was a major ...
, China
*
Hexi Corridor
The Hexi Corridor (, Xiao'erjing: حْسِ ظِوْلاْ, IPA: ), also known as the Gansu Corridor, is an important historical region located in the modern western Gansu province of China. It refers to a narrow stretch of traversable and relativ ...
oases, China
*
Wadi Bani Khalid
''Wilāyat Wādī Banī Khālid'' ( ar, وِلَايَة وَادِي بَنِي خَالِد) is a '' Wilāyah'' (Province) in the Northern Governorate of the Eastern Region of Oman. Located about from Muscat, and from Sur, the province has ...
, Oman
*
Liwa Oasis
The Liwa Oasis ( ar, وَاحَـة لِـيْـوَا, Wāḥḥat Līwā) is a large oasis area in the Western Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.
Geography
Liwa Oasis is about south of the Persian Gulf coast ...
, United Arab Emirates
*
Chebika Oasis, Tunisia
*
Ein Gedi
Ein Gedi ( he, עֵין גֶּדִי, ), also spelled En Gedi, meaning "spring of the kid", is an oasis, an archeological site and a nature reserve in Israel, located west of the Dead Sea, near Masada and the Qumran Caves. Ein Gedi, a kib ...
, Israel
*
Krupaj Springs, Serbia
*
Turfan
Turpan (also known as Turfan or Tulufan, , ug, تۇرپان) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. It has an area of and a population of 632,000 (2015).
Geonyms
The original name of the cit ...
Oasis, China
New World dryland systems with oasis-like attributes
*
Huacachina
Huacachina is a village built around a small oasis and surrounded by sand dunes in southwestern Peru. It is about five kilometers from the city of Ica in the Ica District of Ica Province. The oasis was introduced as a feature on the back of th ...
, Peru
*
Quitobaquito
Quitobaquito, also known as Quitobaquita or Quitovaquita is a populated place situated in Pima County, Arizona, United States. Its current name became official in 1917 as a result of a decision by the Board on Geographic Names
The United State ...
,
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument is a U.S. national monument and UNESCO biosphere reserve located in extreme southern Arizona that shares a border with the Mexican state of Sonora. The park is the only place in the United States where the ...
, Arizona
*
Kitowok, Sonora, Mexico
*
Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge
Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge is at the southern end of the Great Salt Lake Desert, part of the
Great Basin in Juab County, Utah, United States. The Refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. As an oasis in the Grea ...
in
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
*
Havasu Falls
Havasu Falls (Havasupai: Havasuw Hagjahgeevma) is a waterfall of Havasu Creek, located in the Grand Canyon, Arizona, United States. It is within Havasupai tribal lands.
Geography
Havasu Falls is located from Supai. It is the more famous an ...
, Grand Canyon, Arizona
*
Cuatro Ciengas basin,
Chihuahuan desert
The Chihuahuan Desert ( es, Desierto de Chihuahua, ) is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower P ...
, Mexico
*
Oasis Spring Ecological Reserve, Salton Sea, California
Gallery of oases
See also
* – the world's largest irrigation project; developed in Libya to connect cities with
fossil water
Fossil water or paleowater is an ancient body of water that has been contained in some undisturbed space, typically groundwater in an aquifer, for millennia. Other types of fossil water can include subglacial lakes, such as Antarctica's Lake Vosto ...
.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park
Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (''Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses'') is a national park in Maranhão state in northeastern Brazil, just east of the Baía de São José. Protected on June 2, 1981, the park includes of coastline, ...
(Brazil)
*
Great Green Wall (disambiguation) Great Green Wall is the name of three tree-planting initiatives:
* Great Green Wall (Africa)
* Great Green Wall (China)
The Great Green Wall, officially known as the Three-North Shelter Forest Program (), also known as the Three-North Shelterbelt ...
*
Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman
The Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman are ancient water channels from 500 AD located in the regions of Dakhiliyah, Sharqiyah and Batinah. However, they represent a type of irrigation system as old as 5000 years in the region named as Qanat or Ka ...
*
Palmeral of Elche
The Palmeral or Palm Grove of Elche ( es, Palmeral de Elche; Valencian: ''Palmerar d'Elx'') is the generic name for a system of date palm orchards in the city of Elche, Spain.
The Palmeral was planted in Roman times and underwent modifications ...
*
Fog oasis
Lomas (Spanish for "hills"), also called fog oases and mist oases, are areas of fog-watered vegetation in the coastal desert of Peru and northern Chile. About 100 lomas near the Pacific Ocean are identified between 5°S and 30°S latitude, a nort ...
(South America)
References
Bibliography
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
Lacustrine landforms
Waystations