An unusually dense display of wildflowers brought visitors to Lake Elsinore, 70 miles (112 km) from downtown Los Angeles on Monday (March 13), to enjoy the yellow, orange and purple blossoms.
A carpet of vivid blooms, mainly orange California poppies, covered the hillside, alongside busy Interstate 15. People walked the trails, took photographs, rested among the flowers and picked colorful bunches to take home.
A wet winter in Southern California has led to ideal conditions for a bumper wildflower bloom. According to the National Park Service, rainfall throughout the winter and spring is essential for a good wildflower year.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, 80 miles southeast of Lake Elsinore, is seeing an abundance of wildflowers, according to the park’s website.
“Plentiful rains in December, January AND February have encouraged the development of a spectacular showing of annual plants,” the website said.
Drought-stricken California has had one of its wettest winters in memory.
(AP)