Oasis

For anyone who has ever been in a desert, you know how secluded, aloof and lonely the landscape can be. An oasis is a place in a desert where water comes up to the surface from deep underground. Trees and other plants grow around an oasis and animals come to eat the plants, drink and find shelter. Oases are quite intriguing to both humans and animals and simultaneously are crucial parts of an ecosystem that can be found all around the world.

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What are Oasis Geological Features?

Following are the oasis geographical features that you must know to have an improved understanding of what oasis is exactly.

• Oases are created and conserved by nature as well as by men.

• Some man-made wells in neighbourhood oases have been maintained for generations to achieve keeping the oasis as a viable water source for travellers, livestock and locales nearby that bank on the water for survival.

• The natural environment of the oasis also imparts itself to water conservation and preservation; the trees, shrubs and other flora that mushroom in the environment of the oasis help retain water in the ground and shade the oasis from the component around it.

• In absence of oases, trade and travel routes would have been made almost impossible

• Without oases, the watering and feeding of people and livestock would have been constrained.

• Oases situated in the desert (as most are) are constantly threatened by moving sands and other weather-associated elements and are safeguarded by the shelter of trees around them.

• Palm trees, tubers, and other plants are particularly good at securing an oasis from dangerous elements and contribute greatly to the ecosystem with their deep roots and outstanding water retention abilities.

• We as humans are unable to live directly by a body of freshwater, but oases enable us to maintain and sustain life in the strident interior of continents around the world.

Natural Oasis

Oases that are fed by above-ground rivers, such as the Nile River, can be formed by underground aquifers and rock layers hundreds of miles away. This vital association between oases and rivers implies that water sources can be created and conserved even with no water sources visible nearby. Other oasis geological features like oceans, lakes, ponds and streams can also be sources of water in an oasis relying on the location.

What is a Desert?

The driest place present on the planet is a desert. Deserts undergo less than 250mm of rain in a year. A Desert is commonly hot in the daytime and colder at nights. There are different types of desert that range from tropical hot desert like the Sahara in North America to cold deserts such as the Gobi in Central Asia. Only animals and plants that require very less water for survival can live in a desert.

What is a Sand Dune?

Sand dune is basically the hill of sand which is created by winds as they blow across the desert. The more vigorous the wind is, the farther it will carry sand particles before they eventually fall to the ground.

Did You Know

• Along with being a distinctive geographical feature, oases provide food, water, shelter and shade for people passing through as well to plants and animals that live in the area of the oasis.

• Life deprived of reliable water sources together with the constant desire to travel many days between the next water sources has been a theme of trade, travel and nomadic lifestyles for ages that made oasis infamous.

• Life in harsh climates is difficult for sustenance for many creatures on Earth, including humans, and yet numerous species of plants and animals have managed to maintain these harsh environments quite well.