The sand dunes of Chile's Atacama desert, the driest on the planet, have been blanketed by white and purple blooms in recent days after early rains caused flowers to spring up in the dead of the Southern Hemisphere winter. The Atacama has been dubbed the "flowering desert," with resistant seeds and bulbs enduring the harsh weather to pop up as flowers every few years in the spring. But recent heavy rains, attributed to the weather phenomenon known as El Nino, have caused them to bloom early. There have not yet been enough winter blooms to officially be considered an occurrence of the "flowering desert," according to Cesar Pizarro, who heads biodiversity conservation for the National Forestry Corporation (CONAF), an organization run by the Chilean government. But more rains are expe
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The arid plains of northern Chile are likely to once again be painted a rainbow of colors with blooming flowers after this year's winter rains set the stage for the so-called flowering desert in the Atacama Desert. The Atacama bloom attracts large numbers of local and foreign tourists and happens after heavy rains in the southern hemisphere's winter. In June, some areas received more than 80 millimeters (3.15 inches) of water, a significant amount for the normally arid desert, said biologist Roberto Contreras. FILE PHOTO: A view of the Atacama desert partially covered with flowers during 'Desierto Florido' (Bloomed desert), a natural phenomenon that fill with flowers and plants the driest desert in the world and takes place during spring, near Copiapo, Chile, October 13, 2021. RE...
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