Desert regions experience very little rainfall, but flowers may still bloom after the rains come. Some flower seeds will survive in the desert soil for years, suddenly coming into bloom at the first sign of rain. These flowers will grow long enough to produce seeds, so that the cycle may continue.
A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when rainfall is unusually high.
The blossoming occurs when the unusual level of rainfall reach the seeds and bulbs that have been in a latent or dormant state and causes them to germinate and flower in early spring. It is accompanied by the proliferation of insects, birds and small species of lizards.
In the Atacama Desert, a desert bloom occurs between the months of September and November in years when rainfall is unusually high. Normally, the Atacama Desert receives less than 12 mm (0.47 in) of rain a year.
At its height, the phenomenon can be seen from just south of the city of Vallenar to just north of the city of Copiapo throughout the coastal valleys and Chilean Coast Range from September to November.
Climatically, the event is related to the El Nino phenomenon, a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that occasionally develops off the western coast of South America, which can lead to an increase in evaporation and therefore precipitation.
The flowering desert is a popular tourist attraction with tourists visiting the phenomenon from various points around the southern Atacama, including Huasco, Vallenar, La Serena, Copiapo and Caldera.
Picture Credit : Google