A Stunning Display of Wildflowers Just Bloomed in One of the Driest Places on Earth

[Judi Lynn]

7. See the World's Driest Desert Covered in Wildflowers

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | September 1, 2017 03:00pm ET

- click for image -

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The dazzling blooms in Chile's Atacama Desert.
Credit: Mario Ruiz/EFE/Zuma

An unexpected rain has caused the world's driest nonpolar desert to burst into bloom.

Chile's Atacama Desert typically gets a mere 0.6 inches (15 millimeters) of rain every year. But unusual rains that fell during the winter in northern Chile led the barren landscape to blossom in August.

Typically, the Atacama becomes an endless field of wildflowers once every five to seven years due to rains from El Niño, a climate cycle in the Pacific Ocean. This rare transformation is known as a "super bloom" and has earned the desert the nickname "desierto florido" ("flowering desert" in Spanish) from locals. [Photos: Colorful Blooms Sprout Across the World's Driest Desert]

More:
https://www.livescience.com/60303-atacama-desert-bursts-into-bloom.html





Far more Atacama Desert flowers at Yahoo images:

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