Potholes aren't just pits in the road. In nature, potholes are the dimples on the earth's surface where rainwater and snowmelt collect. And they are teeming with life no matter how shallow the pool. Microscopic vertebrates can live in potholes no deeper than your fingertip! But life in the pothole isn't easy at all. To survive both the animals and plants that make their home here have to adapt to extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, as well as long periods of drought. When the potholes dry some species, like the mosquito, migrate to larger bodies of water. Others, such as the tadpole and fairy shrimp eggs, remain. They can survive in the pothole when there is no water at all. But do you know what is the most remarkable thing about the process scientists call cryptobiosis? Cryptobiotic organisms rehydrate quickly. Fairy shrimp eggs hatch less one-hour after rainwater collects. So the next time you take a hike in the desert or visit a National Park remember to keep to the trail, there is life in that dip on the rock whether it is wet or dry!