An artist palette of wildflowers carpets the desert
Who would ever imagine the splendor of wildflowers filling the landscape in one
of the hottest and driest places on Earth? During February of 2016 Death Valley
National Park has been accented with an abundance of desert flowers, also coined
as a Super Bloom.
Death Valley is a national park in the U. S. and located in the states of California and Nevada. Covering an area of 5,219 mi², Death Valley is east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and in the Mojave Desert.
An El Niño weather pattern over the winter brought storms and rain to the area. The rainfall soaked the dry desert which allowed for the numerous flower seeds that have been lying dormant to germinate.
It is a rare
occurrence when so many desert flowers bloom around the same time.
The wildflowers first begin to bloom in the lower elevations where the temperatures are warmer, filling the rugged desert ground with golden blooms.
Desert Gold Sunflowers and Golden Evening Primrose (Camissonia
brevipes) blanket the slopes with the picturesque Black Mountains in the
background. The colorful rocks are the result of oxidation with different
metals, (red, pink and yellow from iron salts; green is decomposing tuff-derived
mica, and manganese produces the purple).
Purple Notchleaf Phacelia (Phacelia crenulata) accent the harsh landscape around the salt flats of Badwater Basin.
Badwater Basin lies 279 feet (85 m) below sea level and
usually only receives an average of 2 inches of rain a year.
The abundance of wildflowers in 2016 Super Bloom includes at least 20 different species and their sweet fragrance is almost overwhelming and like being in a formal garden.
Traveling up to the higher elevations where the temperatures are cooler, different species of flowers were found to be in bloom.
Along the Beatty Cut-Off Road accents of yellow and purple thrive
in the rocky terrain.
Brilliant Yellow Cups seem to glow in the morning sun.
One of my favorite wildflowers due to its blue-lavender color is the Blue
Phacelia or Wild Heliotrope.
This profusion of desert wildflowers will only last while the temperatures are mild and I was very fortunate to time my visit before the ones at the lower elevations began to fade. At this time in mid-February many of the Primrose had already started to bolt.
Follow my Photo-adventures Blog and check back for my next post where I will give more information, plus macro shots of the different species that I found.
What
an exciting and interesting photo-adventure this day has been. I love
it when I am drawn to an area and not knowing what to expect I get
treated to new experiences.
Sign up and follow my blog to see where my next photo-adventure will be!
Photography places me in the moment where I can share that moment in time. It becomes a life story as represented by my interaction with the scene. The happiness and beauty or the sorrow and strife; how I focus leaves a lasting impression that might touch the viewer on a spiritual level.
"Reflecting Nature's Artistry"
No images on this blog are within Public Domain or are available for free download.
All rights reserved, world-wide and images protected by Digital
Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). All photography, graphics, text,
design, and content is copyrighted by Bonnie Rannald and should not be
copied, down-loaded, transferred and re-created in any way without the
express consent, in writing to Bonnie Rannald.
For information on Bonnie Rannald licensed, right-managed images, please
submit a written request.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I welcome your response or feedback to this post. Please leave your comment below and share my Photo-Adventures with your family and friends. Subscribe to my blog and follow me on Facebook.