Oases
Oases of Today and Back Then.
Oases Geographical Features
An oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert where there is water and plants. All in all an oasis is just an area of land in the middle of a desert with a natural or man made water source. Underground water sources called aquifers supply most oases. But some man made wells tapped into the aquifers and made a oases. Some of the smaller oases can disappear from desert sands blowing into the water and clogging up the aquifer. Rivers that flow through the desert are consider to be oases by some. So technically the Nile River is the biggest oasis in the world!
Oases in Egypt
This is a map showing some oases in modern day Egypt. Many oases were scattered throughout the desert in Egypt and any other barren places and they still are today.
Oases Aquifers
This picture shows how oases are supplied by aquifers which makes them full of water and a place for plants to grow.
The Oasis
This picture shows a real oasis in the middle of the desert. As you can see there is a plentiful amount of water and plants smack dab in the middle of now where. That is pretty much how oases work.
How Oases Were Used
How Oases are Used Today
Oases are generally used now by traders or travelers as rest spots or places to get out of the desert sand. Also the oases are used by desert nomads as temporary living places like they were used for in the past. Oases were used for trade routes so traders of the desert could go from oasis to oasis so they were not just trekking through the desert until they found a civilization. Since these oases were trade routes if one person ruled an oasis then they ruled the trade within the desert.
How Oases Were Used Back Then
One of the main uses of oases was homes or farms for Egyptian people or nomads. Some of the oases in Ancient Egypt were large enough so that people could settle there and grow fruit and grain. One oasis was actually the site of a vineyard which produced wine for the pharaoh. Dates, cotton, olives, figs, citrus fruits, wheat and corn are common oasis crops. grown in ancient times.