Rare 'superbloom' draws people from around the world to California's Death Valley National Park

A rare “superbloom” is sweeping across California's Death Valley National Park, transforming normally barren stretches of gravel and rock into sweeping fields of colourful wildflowers and drawing crowds of visitors from around the world.

Park ranger Jennette Jurado said this year’s wildflower display is the strongest the park has seen since 2016, with areas usually dominated by sand and sediment carpeted with thousands of blossoms.

"With this being the hottest place on earth, the driest place in North America, you really got to give a lot of respect to the plants and animals that can survive here," Jurado told Reuters on Wednesday (March 11).

The unusually vibrant display follows a powerful burst of rainfall in late 2025. Death Valley recorded 1.7 inches (4.3 cm) of rain in November alone - close to its average annual total. Jurado said that single month of precipitation helped set the stage for this spring’s vivid show.

Tourists pulled their cars off the roadside in various locations around the park to photograph the flower-studded vistas.

"The display is breathtakingly beautiful," said florist Karen Rookhuizen, 67, who was visiting Death Valley from Arizona. 

"This type of blooming does not happen very often, about once every 10 to 15 years. And so you want to take advantage of it when you can."

-Production: Sandra Stojanovic, Jane Ross/Reuters