In ecology, an oasis is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment that sustains plant life and provides habitat for animals. Surface water and land 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 desert oasis city of Jubbah in Saudi Arabia as photographed from space.
Irrigation canal within the Figuig Oasis in eastern Morocco
Oasis in Oman
Djerid Oasis, Tunisia
A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts". Deserts can be classified by the amount of precipitation that falls, by the temperature that prevails, by the causes of desertification or by their geographical location.
Sand and dunes of the Libyan Desert
Valle de la Luna ("Moon Valley") in the Atacama Desert of Chile, the world's driest non-polar desert
Atacama, the world's driest non-polar desert, part of the Arid Diagonal of South America
Flash flood in the Gobi