Oasis of Mara
The Serrano named the oasis "Mara," meaning "the place of little springs and much grass," and used the local spring water to raise corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash.
Plan Around Oasis of Mara
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Oasis of Mara Details
Each palm tree at the verdant Oasis of Mara symbolizes a new life: following the direction of a medicine man, the Serrano tribe planted a new palm for every baby born during the time they lived at the oasis located in what todays is the town of Twentynine Palms. The Serrano named the oasis "Mara," meaning "the place of little springs and much grass," and used the local spring water to raise corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. With 19th-century mining came exploitation: trees were cut down at the oasis, and its water diverted. Slowly, the Native Americans drifted away, while the dry climate attracted veterans after the First World War who were looking to recover from poison-gas injuries. In 1950, the Twentynine Palms Corporation donated the oasis to the National Park Service so it could become a visitor center for Joshua Tree National Park. Today, the Oasis Visitor Center is the park's largest visitor center, and the Oasis Nature Trail is one of Joshua Tree's most popular hiking trails, even though both are located outside the main park boundaries.
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Low
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Nearby Parks Around Oasis of Mara
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Nearby Points of Interest Around Oasis of Mara
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0.2 mi away
Oasis of Mara Nature Trail
Located at the Oasis Visitor Center in Twentynine Palms, this easy nature trail loops through a natural oasis for which the town of Twentynine Palms is named.
0.2 mi away
Oasis Visitor Center
The Oasis Visitor Center serves the Oasis of Mara area of Joshua Tree National Park
3.5 mi away
North Entrance
The north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park is in Twentynine Palms, three miles south of the junction of Highway 62 and Utah Trail.
3.5 mi away
Twentynine Palms
Twentynine Palms Highway (SR 62), the main access road for the northern part of Joshua Tree National Park, runs east-west straight through the town of Twentynine Palms.
4.1 mi away
Fortynine Palm Oasis Trail
The highlights of the Fortynine Palm Oasis trail are several stands of fan palms and pools of water found at the oasis.
