Natural History Wanderings

from Anza-Borrego Foundation

As spring approaches, many of us wait with great anticipation to see whether the forces of nature have aligned to trigger the infamous “superbloom.” With so little rain this fall and winter, our expectations were low, so we checked in with one of our park scientists to get an informed prediction. Here’s what he had to say:

“Sadly, we do not expect our wildflowers to be in showy abundance,” predicts Danny McCamish, the Park’s senior environmental scientist for the Colorado Desert District of California State Parks.

“Although the area has seen a few precipitation events since January—and even a few mornings with snowy mountains, this past year has been a ‘relatively’ dry year for the desert. Our average temps are over the high-end threshold that we would expect to see an increase in vegetative growth, and the rain amount has been too low to help. Overall, we will see some spotty or localized areas of bloom, many of which will be unpredictable for timing your chance to catch a glimpse.”

But there are almost always some hidden blooms if you look hard enough,” Danny says. If you’re up for the challenge, we’d love to see what blooms you find when exploring in Anza-Borrego! Please tag us in your flower photos: @anzaborrego