Watering hole

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Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Watering hole (disambiguation).

geological depression
where water collects

A watering hole or waterhole is a

geological depression in which a body of water forms, usually a pond or a small lake
. A watering hole is "a sunken area of land that fills with water".[1]

Watering holes may be

jukurrpa (Dreaming) stories.[9]

Another process by which waterholes may be formed is from

termite mounds for nutrients in the soil, repeatedly digging at the same location until a depression large enough to hold a substantial amount of water.[10]

In Africa, animals often gather at waterholes to drink the water. A common misconception associated with watering holes is that, due to the common need for water, predator animals will not attack prey animals in the vicinity of the watering hole. This trope was exploited, for example, by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book, which describes a "truce" at the watering hole as a plot point.[11] In fact, it has been observed that "lions usually ambush their prey by hiding in long grass, often in close proximity to a watering hole".[12]

One study noted that watering holes can serve as a locus of

disease transmission, and observed that "all animals displayed some degree of increased watering hole use with at least one metric of decreased water availability, suggesting that drying environments may contribute to increased parasite concentration at these hotspots across species".[13]

References

  1. ^ Susan Hoe, "Mapping a Watering Hole in Australia", Habitats (2008), p. 18.
  2. ISSN 0140-1963
    .
  3. ^ "The Wondrous Waterholes of Northern Australia". Australian River Restoration Centre. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Rivers Continuing in Time". Burarra Gathering. Wurdeja, Ji-malawa and Yilan Aboriginal Communities. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Queensland Waterhole Classification Scheme (Department of Environment, Science and Innovation)". Queensland Government. Department of Environment, Science and Innovation. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  6. ^ Larsen, Joshua; Nanson, Gerald; Jones, Brian (20 November 2009). "Billabongs (waterholes), unique geomorphology and hydrology in action in arid Australia". Vignette Collection. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  7. ^ "Waterholes as critical features of dry land river systems". Research Plus. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Groundwater". Indigenous Knowledge Institute. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  9. ^ "Sacred waterholes of the Western Desert". The Nature Conservancy Australia. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  10. ^ "The Elephant and the Termite". PBS. 3 November 2021.
  11. ^ Truitt, Brian (12 April 2016). "Review: CGI animals are the real treat of 'Jungle Book'". USA Today.
  12. ^ Andrew Ferguson Fraser, Feline Behaviour and Welfare (2012), p. 67.
  13. ^ Georgia Titcomb, "The role of watering holes as hotspots of disease transmission in changing climates", U.C. Santa Barbara (2020).

External links

Look up watering hole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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