California Superbloom Captured in Stunning Photos and Videos

A spectacular superbloom is underway in California and tourists are traveling from far and wide to capture photos and videos of the phenomenon.

Areas of Lancaster, in northern Los Angeles County, in particular are seeing vibrant displays of poppies. Superblooms like this don't happen very often, and only occur when there's a lot of rainfall and the right amount of sunshine.

When this happens, wildflowers such as poppies—which usually lay dormant in the soil—all bloom at once, creating carpets of brightly colored flowers spread across the state, even in the desert.

A superbloom on this scale has not been seen since 2019, which was one of the most spectacular displays in recent years. During this period, the bloom was so bright in some places that it could be seen from space.

This year, California saw a very wet winter season. This has made for a particularly vibrant superbloom.

The many tourists visiting the displays are sharing photographs on social media.

One Twitter user with the handle neolithicrumba2 posted three photos and a video of the blooms.

"Went for a hike in the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve. Southern California, where I live, is normally a dessert, and outside the city, the hills are brown and dry. But this year, after many years of drought, we've had tremendous rain--and now a wildflower superbloom!" the user said in a caption.

Another Twitter user said that they had "never seen the desert look so pretty."

"The superbloom is insane this year," they wrote, posting more photographs of bright orange poppies.

Although many photos are showing the vibrant displays of orange poppies, some pictures are showing splashes of other colors.

Twitter user Natanella Illouz-Eliaz posted photos of different colored wildflowers overlooking a body of water.

Apparent drone footage posted to Twitter by John Schreiber showed poppies carpeting the Antelope Valley to the north of Los Angeles.

"It's a carpet of orange," he said in a caption.

Lori Pardi posted four photos to Twitter showing the superbloom across the Carrizo Plains National Park.

"Spectacular and Beautiful. The earth sharing its many beautiful shades and colors!" the Twitter user wrote.

Experts had already predicted that this year would see a magnificent superbloom, although they can get it wrong as conditions need to perfectly align.

Botanist Nick Jensen, the Conservation Program director for the California Native Plant Society, previously told Newsweek: "Every time we see a superbloom, it is a gift because of the number of conditions that must perfectly align. Some of those we understand, some remain part of nature's beautiful mysteries."

While the superbloom is a beautiful sight that draws a lot of visitors, there have been problems with the number of tourists flocking to the area in the past.

In 2019, crowds caused a problem when they ventured off trails and left many plants and flowers trampled in their wake. For that reason, the superbloom region this year is being monitored.

Police officers are also patrolling superbloom areas to prevent tourists from parking illegally.

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