Wildflowers blanket Death Valley in best display since 2016

BBC ^ | March 10, 2026 | Jo Wade

[xxqqzz]

Death Valley in California - the hottest place on Earth and the driest place in North America - is currently carpeted in wildflowers in what is shaping up to be the best bloom in a decade.

The National Park Service (NPS) officially categorised this as an above-average bloom year on 22 February, with low-elevation flowers blooming throughout the park.

It is the best event the site has seen since 2016, with swathes of the desert transformed and covered in golden and violet flora.

[xxqqzz]

If you are going to visit Death Valley, this is a good time of year to do so. About 4 people per year die there.

[vivenne]

That is a ringing endorsement.........

[ClearCase_guy]

God Likes Trump.

[Wuli]

CO2

[Carry_Okie]

The trigger was an unusually wet autumn. Record rainfall of 2.41in (6.1cm) hit Death Valley in the autumn of 2025, soaking seeds and washing off their protective coatings to trigger sprouting,

To my recollection, this is equine feces. It has more to do with the leaching of the abscisic acid that sustains dormancy. The water infuses the endosperm, it swells, and it breaks off the seed coat.

[Bob434]

not bad compared to how many die in dem run craphole cities

[mund1011]

About 4 people per year die there.....

Much better odds than going to Chicago for an evening.

[Mariner]

They call it Death Valley for a reason.

[Hot Tabasco]

Almost as prevalent as dandelions in the spring in Michigan.

[al baby]

We were in death valley last week lots of color for sure

[going hot]

Yep.

Chicago has that, and more, each weekend, and there are 52 of them. This does not include the week DAYS.

[abigkahuna]

Weeds—let me get my weed wacker at em...

[aquila48]

Death Valley comes alive!

[Sacajaweau]

It’s happened before...and before that....and before that...

[Beowulf9]

Pretty. But since Death Valley is like 500 miles away photos will have to do.

But I have wondered if the ghost of Charlie Manson is there at the now non-existent cabin of Barker Ranch, still hiding under a ghostly bathroom sink.

[ladyjane]

I was there in 2016 to see the flowers in full bloom. It was great. It was the best time to visit Death Valley. The day I was there the weather was pleasant, not too hot. You could walk all around seeing the flowers. There were a lot of Ferraris there, some pretty rare. A Ferrari club from Los Angeles had driven over from LA that day.

Death Valley is two hours from Las Vegas. From there you can drive over by Pahrump, Area 51 and Indian Springs. A lot more interesting than staying in Vegas.

[Joe 6-pack]

In the spring of 1992 I was a lieutenant in the First Infantry Division. We had an upcoming rotation at the National Training Center in the summer months, but our Battalion commander had arranged for the leadership to go out and recon the terrain that spring between other unit rotations. We landed at March AFB amidst the Rodney King Riots, but convoyed through part of LA and out to Ft. Irwin.

My first impression how crystalline the air seemed with no humidity/haze or pollen and how distant objects and terrain features seemed much closer as a result. I do remember driving around the desert in a HMMWV, cresting a hill and seeing the valley below full of blooming wildflowers. It was quite beautiful not only because of the pure aesthetic, but because of how unexpected it was to see in that location.

[Bobbyvotes]

4 die out of how many visitors? 400? 4000?
Chicago murder rate is minuscule based on several million people living in greater Chicagoland. I spent 37 years working in Chicago City near Cottage grove Ave and 93rd street. It was basically ghetto area. I never faced any crime.

[jerod]

Here you go... A picture is worth a thousand words, and thousand flowers as well.

[montag813]

Beautiful. I’m going to add this to my Soylent Green video playlist when the time comes.