Desert Oasis – A Quick Glance
A desert oasis is generally a lush, water-rich area in the middle of the desert. It can be something as simple as a small pond filled with water after a rain, to a cavern into which water constantly flows such as is found at Montezuma’s Well in Arizona. Over the years they have been used by travelers to refresh themselves, as well as by story tellers to provide comic relief or a sinister turn in a tale when a hallucination leads to ruin.
Richard J. Hintin first spoke of Montezuma’s Well in his Handbook to Arizona published in 1878. But there’s evidence someone else beat Richard to writing about it. In 1583 a Spaniard named Antonio de Espejo wrote of ditch running from a pond to an abandoned pueblo. Many think he was describing Montezuma’s Well and Montezuma’s Castle. The well is a sinkhole into a cavern where over a million gallons of water flows each day. At present, nobody has been able to trace the source of the water that flows into this desert oasis.
Because of their image as a place for travelers to rest, oases have lent their name to many resting or stopping places. One such is the Desert Oasis RV Park and Sand Dune Resort in Idaho. The park is open from May through mid September. It has 72 campsites and miles and miles of sand dunes where people dune ride, snowmobile in the winter and explore the many caves found near the property.
The caves near the Desert Oasis RV Park are quite interesting in themselves. Lava cooled into tubes to form these caves. These caves extend for miles and miles underground. Lava insulates very well. Thus it’s cool inside the caves even on the hottest days. Take a sweater if you visit.
Many hotels also have the oasis name. One such is the Sheraton Desert Oasis in Scottsdale Arizona. The Sonaran desert is its home. The area is hardly barren. People can visit nearby art galleries, museums, or even take in a rodeo. Don’t forget to drink when you visit the desert.
A desert oasis can be a life saver for someone traveling under the hot sun and over the hot sands. It can also be a hotel, park, or rest stop in the modern world.