See Death Valley covered in an ethereal blanket of wildflowers
March 5, 2026
1 min reading
Add us on GoogleAdd SciAm
Death Valley doesn’t look so dead after all in these stunning new images of the desert in bloom
This year’s Death Valley flower bloom is the largest since 2016, according to the U.S. National Park Service. See it for yourself
Flowers bloom on March 3, 2026 in Death Valley, California.
Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Death Valley is called that for a reason. Incredibly hot and largely devoid of water, it is virtually inhospitable to life. But right now, swaths of the desert are transformed, covered in a thick blanket of gold and purple flora. The valley is teeming with wildflowers in what the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) considers the best bloom event the site has seen since 2016.
Every year, the wildflowers of this California valley bloom. Among the most common are bright yellow desert gold, wavy-leaved desert paintbrush, grape soda lupine, and desert starflower. And every once in a while there’s a “superbloom,” a massive show of wild color that happens about once every 10 years on average. The last one dates back to 2016; Death Valley also experienced superb flowering in 2005 and 1998.
Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
On supporting science journalism
If you enjoy this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscription. By purchasing a subscription, you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
A superbloom occurs in years when annual rains have been “well spaced,” according to the NPS, and is evident when winter gives way to spring and warmer weather. Flower shoots are able to grow to maturity in the absence of strong winds that could destroy the budding flora. Last year, high temperatures and low precipitation led to a particularly weak wildflower bloom.
Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
According to the NPS, at the valley’s lower elevations, flowers should be on display until mid-March, while at higher elevations, flowering should begin in earnest in April. As beautiful as the flowers are, the NPS encourages visitors not to pick them so we can all enjoy the display.
It’s time to defend science
If you enjoyed this article, I would like to ask for your support. Scientific American has been defending science and industry for 180 years, and we are currently experiencing perhaps the most critical moment in these two centuries of history.
I was a Scientific American subscriber since the age of 12, and it helped shape the way I see the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of respect for our vast and beautiful universe. I hope this is the case for you too.
If you subscribe to Scientific Americanyou help ensure our coverage centers on meaningful research and discoveries; that we have the resources to account for decisions that threaten laboratories across the United States; and that we support budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In exchange, you receive essential information, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, newsletters not to be missed, unmissable videos, stimulating games and the best writings and reports from the scientific world. You can even offer a subscription to someone.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you will support us in this mission.
