The Atacama Desert in Chile is said to undergo an extraordinary bloom of flowers every few years or decade. Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock
More than a light drizzle of rain pitter-pattered down on the world’s driest desert lying along the rugged horn of South America, and, startlingly, it caused a seemingly insatiable bloom across the sand.
Nearly a decade ago, the Atacama Desert in Chile saw its heaviest rainfall in twenty years, causing massive mudslides, overflowing rivers, and the deaths of 28 people. Yet these showers also caused the arid coastal plateau of salt flats bordering the Andes to pretend, apparently, as though it were a scene from “The Sound of Music.” Blooming flowers appeared everywhere in the desert as an overabundance of dormant perennial flower seeds, that had lain in the desert for years, perhaps decades, were suddenly shaken to life by the sudden rainfall.
As some 141,000 acres of the Atacama Desert came alive with magentas and greens, the world became more familiar with the term used to describe the phenomenon: “desierto florido,” or flowering desert. Many visitors traveled to Chile to witness the startling array of colors amid the surreal barren landscape. Media such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, and piles of others have since covered the phenomenal desert bloom.
Alpacas in the Atacama Desert in Chile. Carolpauferro/Shutterstock
Pata de guanaco flowers in the Atacama Desert in Chile abriendomundo/Shutterstock
The event is nothing like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Many of the aforesaid media have reported it happening once every 5 to 10 years, or every 3 to 10 years. However, it happened again in 2017, 2021, and 2022, and it appears to be happening now, albeit on a smaller scale, in 2024. On July 8, Reuters noted that the sand dunes of Atacama were once again blanketed by white and purple blooms.
Magenta hues cover the sand of the world's driest desert abriendomundo/Shutterstock
A sea of purple flower blossoms. abriendomundo/Shutterstock
A lonely road in the Atacama Desert. Cesar Gonzalez Palomo/Shutterstock
A sea of pastel purple that sometimes springs up in the Atacama desert typically consists of the pata de guanaco flower species, although there are some 200 other species that bloom beside it, like the scarlet garra de león and the white schizopetalon. But they do not spring during North America’s springtime as one would expect living in the U.S., but rather during spring in South America as a Chilean would expect; these flowers typically appear from mid-September through mid-November. It is currently winter in Chile.
This year, the blooms arrived early. The desierto florido of 2024 was reportedly the result of unusually high rainfall last April when the Atacama Desert received nearly 0.5 inches—almost equal to its yearly average of 0.6 inches (though a far cry from 2015 when it received 0.9 inches in 12 hours one day in March). Currently, this year, the famed flowering desert still extends over several tens of thousands of acres.
Another Protected Desert, But With Flowers
The big news came about in 2023 when the Chilean government announced it would protect the Atacama Desert. The story, a familiar one by now, is that people who come to see the extraordinary sight of a flowering desert will litter and trample the blossoms unless protective agencies extend a shield over the treasured salt flats that bloom.
The Atacama Desert is cited as the driest desert on Earth (PositiveTravelArt/Shutterstock); (Inset) Desierto florido blossoms in the desert every several years. sunsinger/Shutterstock
Flowers adding color to the desert is a surreal sight. abriendomundo/Shutterstock
Pink blossoms stretch to the horizon. abriendomundo/Shutterstock
There are species of threatened desert cactus and other at-risk species that live in Atacama that need to be considered, National Geographic notes. Critical microorganisms found only here, scientists believe, have volumes to teach about what cosmic environments are like on Mars.
Another narrative bespeaks of the Atacama Desert as one of the few silver linings climate change has to offer: rains along Chile’s coast are becoming increasingly common, some have reported, fueling ever more frequent blooms of desierto florido. This so-called happy effect of climate change has now been deemed worthy of protected status.
Atacama covets the title of the driest desert on Earth thanks to its sheltered location, abutted between an ocean on one side and rugged mountains on the other. Moisture from the westerly Pacific Ocean is held off by a high-pressure zone over the desert itself, preventing low-pressure storms from forming. The foreboding Andes Mountain range opposite this protects its easterly flanks from rain.
Michael Wing is a writer and editor based in Calgary, Canada, where he was born and educated in the arts. He writes mainly on culture, human interest, and trending news.
