The hottest and driest place in North America is currently awash with the bright colors of wildflowers. Death Valley National Park in southeastern California is having a very rare “super bloom”, a once-in-a decade event. You have to have the perfect confluence of conditions for a super bloom to occur.
Why are so many wildflowers blooming in 2016? The park’s average annual rainfall is 2 inches a year, and some years it gets no rain at all. But in October 2015, three very rare storms brought 3 inches of rain. The results are millions of wildflower seeds that have been dormant have bloomed.
The last time there was a bloom of this magnitude was in 2005, and before that was in 1998. Park Ranger Alan Van Valkenburg explains the super bloom in more detail in the video below. “If you get the chance to see a bloom in Death Valley, especially a super bloom, you should take the opportunity to see it because it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity,” he says. His enthusiasm for the park will make you want to put the park on your bucket list, if not for this year, then 10 years from now. I would absolutely love to see this!
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Here’s a more in depth video about the wildflowers that are making an appearance in the super bloom.
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