Return to the Images of the California Environment page. Click on an image to see a larger version. An antique well-drilling rig mounted on a truck. Palm trees only grow where there is permanent water near the surface. There are fewer and fewer places where it is safe to drink directly from a spring.
Geysers require a steady floow of groundwater.
Palm Springs' lush golf courses are made possible by its abundant groundwater resources. Water imported to Southern California is mostly of low quality, so many people have bottled drinking water delivered to their homes. Shallow groundwater resources can be reached by simple pumps. This isolated spring is on the U.S. side of the border but depends on groundwater flow from Mexico.