Life in Death Valley

A neighbor who likes to explore discovered some sensational wildflowers in--of all places--Death Valley, and that led us to phone headquarters at the Death Valley National Monument.

“They’re calling it the blooming of the decade,” Mary Beth White, a ranger, reported. “It’s certainly one of the best years in memory.”

The spectacle began four weeks ago in the lower valley, which is more than 200 feet below sea level, and now is working its way to the higher elevations. Right now a good place to see the flowers is around Scotty’s Castle. But if you wait another month you will have to hike up to some of the higher areas. White noted that the park, with elevations from the lowest in the nation to above 7,000 feet, has more than 900 species of plants, but all the flowering takes place between February and July.

Most conspicuous is desert gold, a sunflower-like plant now at its prime in Mud Canyon. Tobacco Weed is also prevalent; it’s called Gravel Ghost in the valley because of the mysterious effect of its white flowers blowing in the breeze, their long stems and base leaves hardly visible to passers-by. Varieties of Phacelia in bright purples, desert gold poppies and--at higher elevations--lupines are also coming into flower.

Heavier-than-usual rains at the right time to germinate the seeds are credited with the rare show, the ranger said. Last year the valley had more than 3 inches, and in the first three months of this year there have been 1.6 inches. The normal for the year is 1.9 inches.

Easter-vacation crowds are keeping the rangers busy. Visitors have been rewarded also with milder temperatures--when we talked with White it was in the low 70s, compared with a winter average in the high 80s. The flowers will be long gone before summer turns the lower valley into a furnace: The high last year was 124.