January 26, 2016 at 3:50 pm

Picture of the Day: The Driest Place on Earth in Full Bloom

by twistedsifter

atacama desert covered in pink flowers Picture of the Day: The Driest Place on Earth in Full Bloom

Photograph by Mario Ruiz

 

Last year, Chile’s Atacama Desert—the driest non-polar area in the world—received record rainfalls thank to El Niño. According to the Washington Post, heavy thunderstorms last March brought 0.96 inches of rain in a single day. While that may not sound like much, for the Atacama, it was the equivalent to 14 years of rainfall in a single day!

Additional rains in August led to an incredible bloom of pink-tone mallow flowers (also known as malva) in October (which is Spring in Chile), covering the desert floor. The rare phenomenon only occurs once every 5-7 years and 2015 was reportedly the most impressive bloom in nearly two decades.

You can see many more photos of the amazing event on the Washington Post.

 

 

picture of the day button Picture of the Day: The Driest Place on Earth in Full Bloom

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