Watering hole

Ephemeral rivers sometimes form waterholes in geological depressions or areas scoured by erosion, and are common in arid regions of Australia.

[5][6] While they exist in both wetlands and arid lands, they are of particular importance in desert areas of Australia, where they are often the only water source for native animals, people, and livestock, and provide critical habitat for a number of wildlife species.

[7] Desert waterholes are often found in dry hilly areas, sustained by discharge of groundwater, remaining for long periods after flood events or normal flows of rivers and creeks.

Some of these holes can even be built large enough for the animals to bathe in, and because of the permanence of these waterholes, they can become popular spots for tourists to watch wildlife and some of them even have lodges or live streaming cameras placed nearby.

This trope was exploited, for example, by Rudyard Kipling in The Jungle Book, which describes a "truce" at the watering hole as a plot point.