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Fan Palm Oases In an otherwise hot and sparse environment, palm oases provide the luxury of shade and coolness. The oases require a constant supply of water, so they will occur along fault lines where hard rock forces water from underground to the surface. There are 158 desert fan palm oases in North America. Five are located in Joshua Tree National Park. |
 Oasis of Mara |
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Washington filifera, the desert fan palm, is a native to the low hot deserts of California. They can live for 80 or 90 years and grow up to 75 feet tall. They are definately the heaviest, with a mature palm weighing up to three tons. Its leaves are folded and shaped like a fan. They can grow up to nearly six feet in length and width. When the leaves die they remain attached to the trunk until removed by wind, fire or flood. > next |
 Cottonwood Springs |