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The flowering desert (Spanish: ''desierto florido'') is a climatic phenomenon that occurs in the Atacama Desert,〔(Atacama Desert ) www.britannica.com Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 Chile. The phenomenon consists of the blossoming of a wide variety of flowers between the months of September and November in years when rainfall is unusually high. Normally the region receives less than 12 mm (0.47 in)〔(Atacama Desert ) www.windows2universe.org Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 of rain a year. The blossoming occurs when the unusual level of rainfall reach the seeds and bulbs that have been in a latent or dormant state and causes them to germinate and flower in early spring.〔(Flowering desert ) www.livingatlaschile.com Published January 18, 2013, retrieved December 17, 2013〕 It is accompanied by the proliferation of insects, birds and small species of lizard. At its height, the phenomenon can be seen from just south of the city of Vallenar to just north of the city of Copiapó throughout the coastal valleys and Chilean Coast Range from September to November. Climatically, the event is related to the El Niño phenomenon,〔(NOAA's El Niño Page ) www.elninonoaa.gov Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 a band of anomalously warm ocean water temperatures that occasionally develops off the western coast of South America, which can lead to an increase in evaporation and therefore precipitation.〔(Irrigation Water Management: Introduction to irrigation, RAINFALL AND EVAPOTRANSPIRATION ) www.fao.org Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 The flowering desert is a popular tourist attraction〔(Desierto florido aumenta en 20% turistas en Región de Atacama ) Manuel Valencia, La Tercera, 24 September 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2013.〕 with tourists visiting the phenomenon from various points around the southern Atacama, including Huasco, Vallenar, La Serena, Copiapó and Caldera.〔(The desert in bloom: a natural wonder ) ThisisChile.cl, 12 July 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2013.〕 ==Plant and animal life== The flowering desert involves more than 200 species of flower,〔(Atacama Desert ) http://www.eoearth.org/ Atacama Desert, Mark McGinley Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 most of them endemic to the Atacama region. The different species germinate at different times through the flowering desert period. Some of the most common species include:〔(Flowering Desert ) www.lavaguada.cl by Ricardo Ordoñez, Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 *Garra de león (''Bomarea ovallei'') *Pata de guanaco (''Cistanthe grandiflora'') *Añañuca (''Rhodophiala rhodolirion'') *''Schizopetalon tenuifolium'' The region is also home to cacti, succulents and other examples of xerophilous plants, as well as animal species including the Tuco-tuco and the Four-Eyed Frog.〔(The Desert in Bloom: A natural wonder ) www.thisischile.cl. Retrieved March 30, 2013〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Flowering desert」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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