Mary Allen
An oasis is a watering hole in the desert. Plants grow around the waterhole, so it’s a patch of green in the hot desert. People can also live in an oasis. There are oases in Africa, Asia, America, and Australia.
The water often comes from a spring in the ground. Other oases are river oases. The Nile, for example, is one such river oasis, albeit a particularly large or long one. An oasis can also be created artificially by people pumping water up from the groundwater.
It is called oasis farming when something is grown in the oasis, such as vegetables or grain. Known for oases is the date palm. The more water the plant needs, the closer to the source you grow it.
In the past, oases were important for the traffic of caravans, i.e. groups of people who traveled together through the desert. At the oasis, you could take water with you or trade. They were also important for people who did not live in a single place but wandered around, for nomads.