page_title: Desert bloom
section_title: Chile
hierarchical_section_title: Desert bloom / Around the world / Chile
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Blühende Atacamawüste, Chile Español: Desierto Florido, en el desierto de Atacama, Chile English: Flowered desert, at the Atacama desert in Chile Français&#160;: Désert fleuri, dans le Désert d'Atacama, Chile
context_page_description: A desert bloom is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in various deserts around the world. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers during early-mid spring in years when rainfall is unusually high.
  The blossoming occurs when the unusual level of rainfall reaches seeds and bulbs that have been in a latent or dormant state, and causes them to germinate and flower in early spring. It is accompanied by the proliferation of insects, birds and small species of lizards.
context_section_description: In the Atacama Desert, a desert bloom (Spanish: desierto florido) occurs between the months of September and November in years when rainfall is unusually high. Normally, the Atacama Desert receives less than 12 mm (0.47 in) of rain a year.
  At its height, the phenomenon can be seen from just south of the city of Vallenar to just north of the city of Copiapó throughout the coastal valleys and Chilean Coast Range from September to November.
  Climatically, the event is related to the El Niño phenomenon, a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that occasionally develops off the western coast of South America, which can lead to an increase in evaporation and therefore precipitation.
  The flowering desert is a popular tourist attraction with tourists visiting the phenomenon from various points around the southern Atacama, including Huasco, Vallenar, La Serena, Copiapó and Caldera.
caption: Flowering desert in the Chilean Atacama Desert
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