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25 January 2024 ( 80 views )
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Atacama Desert bursts with color in rare wildflower bloom

A rare desert phenomenon is occuring in Chile.


The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is considered the oldest and driest desert on the planet.

Every five to seven years, this arid land explodes with new plant life during a rare phenomenon called a desert bloom.More than 200 types of wildflowers can grow in this desert, including the pink pata de guanaco and the yellow ananuca.

During a desert bloom, several thousand wildflowers blanket the area with color.

PHOTO: The Atacama desert bloom is shown in Copiapo, Chile, on Oct. 14, 2021. In the Atacama desert, the driest in the world, the phenomenon takes place from northern Vallenar to Copiapo.
The Atacama desert bloom is shown in Copiapo, Chile, on Oct. 14, 2021. In the Atacama desert, the dr...
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: A woman strolls amid flowers blooming on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
A woman strolls amid flowers blooming on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile...
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

PHOTO: Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Flowers bloom on the Atacama desert, some 600 km north of Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: A gigantic mantle of multicolored flowers covers the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, on Oct. 13, 2021.
A gigantic mantle of multicolored flowers covers the Atacama Desert, the driest in the world, on Oct. 13, 2021.
Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

How a desert bloomed in the driest place on Earth


Dry mountains in the background, with two people standing among short flowers on the desert flower

Unusual winter rainfall has produced a floral bloom and explosion of colour on the barren plains of the Atacama desert, prompting Chile’s government to move to protect the area.

This month, the new president, Gabriel Boric, announced that the area would be made into a national park – the highest protected status the country bestows – to safeguard the flowering desert, a rare phenomenon which occurs every few years.

Although the exact area for the Flowering Desert national park is yet to be determined, it will sit between the northern cities of Copiapó and Vallenar in the Atacama desert – the driest place on Earth.

“This announcement is great news … and it is in line with our commitment to be an ecological government which puts people and nature first,” said Maisa Rojas, Chile’s environment minister.

Rojas, a renowned climate scientist who sat on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said that people must “respect the desert even in its dormancy … because the seeds and bulbs are still there waiting for the new cycle”.


Hills carpeted in short flowers with the sky in the distanceEvery few years, more than 200 species of plants bloom, producing a spectacular carpet of purple, pink and yellow flowers on the desert floor. Many of the species are endemic to the area, including nolanas, huillis, and añañucas.

The plants are geophytes, meaning that their bulbs lie dormant underground over the dry period and, when the winter rains finally arrive, surface the following spring. Lizards, mammals and insects flock to the area when the flowers emerge, with desert foxes, rodents and guanacos joined by grasshoppers and butterflies.

The phenomenon usually follows El Niño, the warm phase of a weather system in the tropical waters of the Pacific ocean which prompts rainfall in coastal areas of the Atacama desert.

However, this year is La Niña, the cycle’s cold spell, making this bloom highly unusual. The last major bloom occurred in 2017, and scientists believe that the phenomenon could last into late November this year.

“All extreme biological systems are right on the edge of survival – that’s why it’s so important to protect them,” said Dr Cristian Atala, a professor at Valparaíso Catholic University’s institute of biology, who welcomed the government’s decision to declare the national park.

“The slightest push and these cycles are lost for ever because they’re more sensitive than most,” he added.





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