The Oasis of Mara provides a home for park
headquarters and Oasis Visitor Center. The oasis was first
settled by the American Indians who called it Mara, meaning
"the place of little springs and much grass". Early American
survey parties arrived in the 1850s and found the area under
cultivation by the indians. Later, at the beginning of the 19th
century, prospectors started to move in and the Indian families
began to drift away. Today the oasis is a great place to start
your Joshua Tree visit. Behind the center, a short paved nature
trail loops past trees and shurbs. The trail provides a quick
education: interpretative signs point out desert flora and talk
about the history of the oasis.
