Death Valley Blossoms With Color in Potential 'Super Bloom'
— -- A burst of colorful flowers is bringing life to Death Valley -- a rare event that could become a "super bloom," thanks to the potential combination of "perfect conditions."
"It's very rare to have a good bloom in Death Valley," Park Ranger Alan Van Valkenburg said in a video on the DeathValleyNP YouTube page.
Death Valley National Park is in central California, near the Nevada border.
"You always get flowers somewhere in Death Valley almost every month of the year, but to have a big bloom like this, which we hope will become a super bloom -- which is beyond all your expectations -- those are quiet rare," Van Valkenburg said. "Maybe once a decade or so."
"These areas that are normally just rock, just soil, just barren ... they're filled with life. So Death Valley really does go from being a valley of death to being a valley of life," he said in the video.
"But that's so brief. Because it's not a permanent thing, it's just temporary," he said. "It's here for a moment then it fades."
Peak blooming periods for Death Valley are usually mid-February to mid-April, early April to early May and early May to mid-July.
Not only are some flowers blooming early, but some plants that haven't bloomed yet or are just beginning to bloom are super-sized, the park said.
"If you get a 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," Van Valkenburg said.
The park says a good wildflower year depends on well-spaced rainfall in the winter and spring, warmth from the sun and lack of drying winds.
"You have to have just the perfect conditions," Van Valkenburg said. "You never know when it's going to happen ... if it happens once a decade, are you going to be able to do that? It's a privilege ... very few people get to see it and it's incredible."
