Chile’s Atacama Desert is so dry it gets just half an inch of rain a year. This year, that number changed, and the desert decided to celebrate by blooming.
The desert has turned into a 6,560-square-mile patchwork of purple, pink, white, red and yellow wildflowers. The phenomenon, known locally as “desierto florido” or “flowering desert,” is transforming hillsides and plains that usually look almost lifeless.
The Rain Behind the Bloom
This year’s El Niño brought record rain between July and August. Some regions got more than 7 inches. Record levels of rain fell in several Chilean regions during that period, with some areas receiving more than 7 inches (190 millimeters).
The Atacama usually sees just 0.6 inches a year.
That rare moisture awakened millions of seeds and bulbs that can sit dormant underground for years. The result is a carpet of color across the desert.
A Desert That Flowers
Jorge Carabantes, head of the Protected Areas Department at the National Forest Corp. (CONAF) in Chile, told The Associated Press that the bloom is extraordinary.
“It is a unique phenomenon; there are more than 200 plant species,” he said. “This is a flowering event that is obviously extraordinary and unusual, very different from other blooms that occur elsewhere on the globe.”
How Much Rain Fell
The rain brought flooding to some areas of Chile. It also created the largest desert bloom since 1997, according to CONAF representatives.
The bloom covers 6,560 square miles, or 17,000 square kilometers.
The Colors of the Atacama
The colors contrast against the dark Atacama mountains and Chile’s cloudless skies. Photos from Getty Images photographer Javier Torres capture the spectacle.
It is a gift that does not last. By the end of the Southern Hemisphere’s spring, many of the flowers will disappear, leaving behind seeds and bulbs waiting for the next extraordinary rains.
What the Bloom Means
The Atacama is one of the driest places on Earth. A year with record rain is a rare event, and the desert responds fast.
The bloom is also a reminder of how thin the line is between desert and garden. A little water is all it takes.
The Numbers
- Half an inch of rain a year is the desert’s normal total
- More than 7 inches fell in some areas between July and August
- 6,560 square miles of bloom across the Atacama
- More than 200 plant species are part of the event
- The bloom is the largest since 1997
A Fleeing Gift
The seeds and bulbs will wait for the next extraordinary rains.
For now, the Atacama is a living postcard. The desert has put on its brightest clothes, and the world is watching.
This is one of nature’s most remarkable transformations. It is also one of the most fleeting.
Source material: “Colorful wildflowers bloom across Chile's Atacama Desert in wake of 'super' El Niño,” Live Science.
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