Soakage

A soakage, or soak, is a source of water in the deserts of Australia. It is called a soak because the water generally soaks into the sandy ground, and is stored below. They sometimes form part of an ephemeral river or drainage system. Soakages were traditionally important sources of water for Aboriginal people in the desert, because they are the most reliable sources in times of drought. Knowing the exact location of each soakage was very valuable knowledge. In the 19th century, the explorers Peter Warburton and David Carnegie wrote that they had chased down Aboriginal people with camels and captured and chained them to force them to reveal their secret sources of water.