After more than 7 years of drought conditions, the state of California was declared 100% drought-free earlier this year.
While the turnaround began when the weather got wetter in 2017, it was the above-average precipitation of late 2018 and early 2019 that helped build snow packs back up and refill dry reservoirs.
As a result of these changing conditions, the state was also gifted with a phenomenon called a “superbloom.” In fact, one superbloom of striking orange poppies southeast of Los Angeles drew so many people that officials were calling it a “poppy apocalypse” and turning away hordes of Instagrammers armed with selfie sticks.
But who can blame them? Just look at this photo from Walker Canyon Trail. Who could stay away when the other option is to meander through nature this beautiful?
Looking as beautiful as it sounds, a superbloom is a relatively rare phenomenon that occurs after periods of drought followed by heavy rainfall. It happens because wildflower seeds that have been lying dormant for extended periods due to lack of water all bloom at roughly the same time once the water comes.
It results in stunning fields of flowers as far as the eye can see and takes place in normally dry desert areas, which make the blooms all the more special.
In fact, the flowers are so overwhelmingly bright that the superblooms in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and around Lake Elsinore this year could be seen from space. Jim Ross of NASA took this photograph from a spacecraft:
California also experienced a superbloom back in 2017, when the droughts were beginning to end in parts of the state.
The Carrizo Plain National Monument;s bloom shows that these flowers can appear in just about any color.
But the blooms don’t just bring swarms of people, they also bring swarms of wildlife. Butterflies and bugs come back to the land, helping the local ecosystem thrive.
Yet, there are drawbacks to the beauty. The fast growing wildflowers aren’t always native species and can choke out the flowers and grasses that belong there. In addition, the new growth is more likely to go up in smoke during the state’s wildfires later in the summer when the flowers have dried out.
But before the bad news blows in, Californians are still reveling in their memories of the great and colorful outdoors.
The blooms are long now, and the only person who might be happy about it is Steve Manos, the mayor of Lake Elsinore, the small town in Southern California overtaken by poppies and Instagrammers. The display was unlike anything he had seen in his 32 years in the area.
Then came the “influencers,” who made the town a destination for more people than the city could handle and over the course of three weeks, city workers and residents dealt with traffic congestion, injuries, and plenty of bad manners as people wandered off the trail to get a perfect shot, trampling the flowers they were trying to show off along the way.
When the city closed the trail, it did nothing to dissuade people who still found places to park or pull over to get their perfect shot. They even climbed into dangerous spots wearing heels or carrying babies just to be near the blooms.
Eventually, the city gave up, posting on Facebook, “At this time, it is not feasible for us to keep visitors away from #WalkerCanyon.” At least they knew it would only last a few weeks.
It’s clear that people understand that being out in nature is good for them (and their Instagram following), but it’s yet another example of humans not being so great for nature.
Nevertheless, it was an unforgettable moment for those who got to see it.
Be sure to scroll down below for a video showing both the beauty and the chaos of this year’s superbloom.
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