Death Valley Wildflowers 2016

If you have not gone to see the wild flowers in Death Valley, you may want to go soon. The flowers have started to sprout and bloom, and it will only get better.

Over the winter season, Death Valley received a bit of rain. With the early warm temperatures, the flowers have started to bloom. The bloom started around Badwater, and more wildflower fields have started blooming to the north. A variety of colors can be found near Badwater, indicating that more colors could also be expected in other areas. These wild flowers can also be an indicator of what other areas of the Mojave Desert might see in the coming months.

According to the NWS Weather Station located in Furnace Creek:

September 2015: No Rain

October 2015: 1.3"

November 2015: No Rain

December 2015: No Rain

January 2015: 0.46"

February 2016: 0.30"

Winter Season Total: 2.06" of Rain (or 20% more rain from average, mostly in October)

This is a map of observed wildflowers. Another great map can be found here:

Near Beaty Junction, looking towards Furnace Creek	Between Artist Dr and Natural Bridge Rd
Near Mile Marker 15, just North of Badwater	Near Mile Marker 15, just North of Badwater
Overlooking Badwater	Across the street from Badwater

If you are traveling to Death Valley, keep in mind that the storms over the last few years have wrecked havoc for the roads in the area. Highway 178 going through Panamint Valley has a 2 mile section of gravel road, the south end of Death Valley the road is closed between the junction of Harry Wade Road and the Greenwater Valley Road (aka Furnace Creek Wash Road), and Wildrose Canyon is closed.

Wildflowers in the IWV

Goldfields with Owens Peak in distance

With over 4 inches of rain between Nov 1st 2014 and March 1st 2015, the area is seeing quite a bit of flowers, especially when our yearly total of rain is around 5 inches. Take a drive behind the college and you will see many great flowers. The area is predominantly Goldfield, but you will also see the Desert Dandelion on the edges of roads/trails all over the area. Blue Lacy Phacelia is seen near the bases of the creosote bushes. Another great area to visit is the canyons near the brewery. Short Canyon has brought some small fields of California Poppies, as well as a few other flowers. Please remember as you go check out the flowers, do not pick them. They cannot leave seeds for next season when picked.

Desert Dandelion Along roads/trails, all over the valley	Coreopsis	Blue Lacy Phacelia Behind and near the college
Blue Gilia Found in Short Canyon	California Poppy Found in Short Canyon	Yellow Primrose Found below Short Canyon
Red Maids	Big White Primrose Found in Short Canyon, but not many	Brown-eyed Primrose Found below Short Canyon
 Coreopsis and Fiddleneck with Ridgecrest in distance	Goldfields with a Blue Phacelia	Looking South behind College

A big Thank You goes to Janet Westbrook as she helped me to identify the names of these great flowers.