One of the driest places on Earth, Chile’s Atacama Desert isn’t where you’d go to pick a bouquet of flowers. However, because of this year’s strong El Niño, the normally barren plains of the area burst into a carpet of pink flowers late October. The area was hit by a year’s worth of rain in one day and, in addition to severe flash-flooding, the weather brought to life a sea of dormant seeds, the Weather Channel reports. The effect is known as “desierto florido,” or the flowering desert and occurs in the late months of years experiencing particularly heavy rainfall.
(Photo By: Mario Ruiz via Environmental Protection Agency)
“The intensity of blooms this year has no precedent,” said Daniel Diaz, National Tourism Service director. “We are surprised.” The flowers are expected to draw around 20,000 tourists.
Check today’s Austin weather forecast here.
