CNN —The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is one of the driest places on Earth, but swaths of its usually barren sand are currently carpeted with a colorful bloom of white and purple flowers. The Atacama Desert is known as the Disierto Florida (the “flowering desert”) because every few years it’s blanketed with flowers, when the right levels of rainfall and temperature coincide to awaken dormant desert seeds. The bloom usually coincides with El Niño, during which temperatures are warmer in the region, leading to more evaporation and, in turn, more rainfall. The desert blooms every couple of years when rainfall and temperatures are the right levels to awaken the dormant seeds. Rodrigo Gutierrez/ReutersThe desert blooms usually happen in the spring, but this year's heavier-than-usual rainfall has brought flowers out early.

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Persons: El Niño, Rodrigo Gutierrez, ” Cesar Pizarro Organizations: CNN, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Reuters, National Forestry Corporation Locations: Chile, Florida, El, Chilean