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'Super Bloom' Carpets One Of North America's Driest Places

By R. Siva Kumar | Update Date: Mar 01, 2016 02:07 PM EST

For the first time in a decade, due to the heavy October downpours, about 20 species of flowers have lit up California's Death Valley National Park, which is one of the hottest places on Earth, according to The National Park Service.

The last time this place blossomed was in 2005, but now the flowers in the valley created a "super bloom" that looked brighter and better. Before that, the super bloom was in 1998. Both the years were the El Nino periods that had winter and spring storms leading to more rainfall than usual, according to NPR.

Considered to be one of North America's driest places, Death Valley gets two inches of rain every year. But the National Weather Service pointed out that the October storms led to three inches of rain filling up the park in five hours.

"I'm not really sure where the term 'super bloom' originated, but when I first came to work here in the early 1990s I kept hearing the old timers talk about super blooms as a near mythical thing - the ultimate possibility of what a desert wildflower bloom could be," Park Ranger Alan Van Valkenburg said, according to the National Park Service.

When the wildflowers began to dance last December, they were delightful, but they were noted to be at their best last week.

"I saw several impressive displays of wildflowers over the years and always wondered how anything could beat them until I saw my first super bloom in 1998. Then I understood. I never imagined that so much life could exist here in such staggering abundance and intense beauty," Van Valkenburg added.

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