WATER SUPPLY FOR DOCTOR DAVE'S OASIS - MOROCCO

Take your students on an excursion (via description/photographs and diagrams) into a Moroccan oasis to meet a local doctor who will act as your guide. Recognise the importance of a reliable water supply and take a walk from the irrigated oasis gardens along the perimeter of the gorge to unravel the source of water. By observation of the water channels and an awareness of the folded landforms find out how the natural underground flow of water is collected in a constructed mother well which acts as a reservoir for the water channels leading down the gorge perimeter to the oasis. A check question sheet is given. This unit is one in a collection of Moroccan units which deal with issues such as - the ancient Medina of Fez; the worried camel herder Ahmed; an article entitled "From mosque to market place" (TATA); Rain shadow analysis (coast to desert); Nomadic activity - scarcity of water.
The wide age range indicated for this title means that it can be used in junior levels as an arid land study. At more senior levels students can analyse the geomorphology and climatology of the oasis environment and mountains. This unit uses visual materials to pose issues such as - What is there? Why is it there? How have people adapted to the environment to support their survival. This unit could be used as a standalone case study of survival in a hot arid land. It could also be used as one unit in a broader examination of studies based on Morocco.