PLANET EARTH Deserts

But every square meter of soil moistened by this river will increase the chances of survival for those that live here. Waterholes are filled temporarily. Elsewhere in Africa elephants drink every day, but the lack of water here means that desert elephants can only refill their tanks once every four or five days. Within a week the flash flood has produced a flush of green, more than enough to draw the oryx out of the dunes.



It's a rare chance for them to build up their food reserves. The flood has made life easier for the lions, too. The flesh of this oryx will keep the family going for a week at the most. But for a while the hunting will be easier, now that river channel has turned green. The good times for lions and oryx are brief, but these are the short moments that make it possible to live in deserts the year round.



Death Valley is the hottest place on Earth. Yet even this furnace can be transformed by water. A single shower can enable seeds that have lain dormant for 30 years or more to burst into life. And there hasn't been a bloom like this one for a century. The periods of boom in Death Valley are short. but they're just frequent enough to keep life ticking over.