Death Valley Super Bloom Feb. 23rd 2016
At the spur of the moment I drove up to Death Valley to see this "super bloom" everyone is talking about. It was pretty dark when I got up there and was able to primitive camp off the main road in Titus Canyon. Strong winds made setting up the tent an interesting experience!
Death Valley normally gets around 2.4 inches of rain a year, but a 1,000-year storm in October brought 3 inches of rain in five hours! Two additional storms in the fall set up conditions for an especially floriferous season. I live five hours away and I thought, "what the heck!" and drove up. I have identified the plants to the best of my ability with a little assistance from my friends at the California Native Plant Society.
Road closures from flood damage necessitated coming in from the east. I drove up and camped in Titus Canyon. The next day, bright and early, I drove down Badwater Road down south to Ashford Mill because reports said I would find wildflowers there. Stops along the way found wildflower treasures.
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| Camissonia claviformis |
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| Eriogonum inflatum - Love those stems! |
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| Cryptantha angustifolia (Mike Simpson's help) |
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| Mystery? |
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| Psathyrotes ramosissima |
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| Phacelia crenulata |
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| Atrichoseris platyphylla - commonly called "Gravel Ghost" for obvious reasons |
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| Nama demissum |
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| Atrichoseris platyphylla |
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| Phacelia calthifolia |
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| Monoptilon bellidiforme |
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| Atrichoseris platyphylla |
Further south on Badwater Road are the ruins of Ashford Mill. This is where I saw fields of Geraea canescens as far as the eye could see!
Geraea canescens
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| Geraea canescens |
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| Abronia villosa |
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| Abronia villosa |
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| Eremalche rotundifolia - This is the flower I wanted to see! |
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| Geraea canescens |
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| I carefully tiptoed around flowers to get this shot |
Wow! Superbloom!
I hoped you have enjoyed this little snapshot of the Death Valley Superbloom.
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