Imagine the stereotypical desert oasis: a small island of trees and precious water in the midst of an arid expanse. A glimmer of green amongst the rocks and sand.
Such oases do exist. And today we learned their origin. Aquifers often stretch below deserts, their life-giving water trapped by layers of impermeable rock or clay. But those layers sometimes break -- e.g., in an earthquake -- and water pushes its way to the surface. When that happens, cue the trees -- you've got yourself an oasis -- an oasis of palms growing around springs.
In short, Palm Springs owes both its name and its existence to the San Andreas Fault.
