The Incredible Desert Flowers of Atacama! |
The Atacama Desert of Chile is
infamous as one of the driest places on Earth. however, due to the
higher than usual amount of winter rains related to El Niño phenomenon,
there is a colorful surprise: This desert will burst into a banquet of
color and flower.
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This rare phenomenon sees the
blooming of thousands of flowers between September and November, when
the winter rainfall is higher than usually expected for the desert. At a
certain level capable of inducing lots of seeds and bulbs, which were
dormant sometimes for years, to germinate in the spring. At the
beggining of the spring the dry sand starts filling with colourful
flowers.
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The extraordinary flower bloom also
encourages the proliferation of insects and the presence of several
species of birds and lizards. The event is spread over an area of almost
200 kilometres between the south of the city of Vallenar to the north
of the city of Copiapó, in both coastal areas and towards the interior
sectors and the mountain range.
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Climatically, the event is related to
El Niño (ENSO), which involves warming of the ocean currents along the
coast, leading to an increase in precipitation. This past winter
(Southern Hemisphere) was particularly propitious with amounts of rain
not seen for the past 20 years.
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The bloom
includes about 200 species of flowers, many of them endemic to the
region (not present in other parts of the world). Different species of
flowers predominate in coastal or inland areas toward the mountains, and
they bloom sequentially between September and November.
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The most
abundant species are the so-called "Añañuca", "Lion Paw" and "Doquilla”
(“Pata de Guanaco"), plus several cacti species that show their best
during these months.
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Numerous domestic and foreign
tourists travel each year to Chile's Atacama Desert to witness the
magnificent spectacle. In recent years, however, because of the large
number of visitors, the cutting of flowers and extraction of cactus
species (which constitutes a lucrative illegal trade), some
environmental advocacy organizations have been reporting the possible
destruction of this natural heritage.
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Some tourists even travel the dunes
in 4x4 vehicles that cause severe damage to plants and reduce the
potential for regeneration of the species.
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Government authorities are developing
and implementing information campaigns, bans and inspections, in order
to facilitate the enjoyment of the magnificent natural spectacle while
protecting the environment to minimize or eliminate the risk of damage
to the survival of the species.
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samedi 21 juin 2014
The Incredible Desert Flowers of Atacama!
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