A rare “super bloom” of wildflowers is likely expected to take place this season in Death Valley National Park.
On Monday, the park posted an Instagram video showing thousands of tall yellow flowers vibrating the breeze.
“We got you a valentine’s day present… it’s thousands of flowers,” the post read.
A report on the website DesertUSA called the area south of Copper Canyon “especially jaw-dropping.” Photos showed fields of yellow against the stark mountains in the background.
Flowers began popping up very early this year — in early January, thanks to early El Niño rains, the Los Angeles Times reported last month.
Last week, the park posted a video musing the possibility of a super bloom this winter.
“You always get flowers somewhere in Death Valley, almost every month of the year, but to have a big bloom like this, which we hope will become a super bloom … those are quite rare,” said park ranger Alan Van Valkenburg in the video.
He called super blooms “beyond all your expectations.”
The last two were in 1998 and 2005, he told the National Parks Conservation Association.
The first time he saw a super bloom — in his 25 or so years living in Death Valley — Van Valkenburg had a realization about the seemingly barren landscape.
“I suddenly realized there are so many seeds out there just waiting to sprout, just waiting to grow. I had no idea there was that much out there,” he said.
Areas that are normally rocks can become filled with life — briefly — during super blooms.
“It’s here for a moment, then it fades,” Van Valkenburg said. “It’s a privileged to be able to be here and see one of these blooms.