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Travel photo of the week: Rare desert super bloom in California

Amboy Crater in the Mojave Trails national monument is among the southern California landscapes where heavy rains have brought a once-in-a-decade covering of wild flowers

Desert wildflowers cover the ground around the Amboy Crater in the Mojave Trails National Monument during the super bloom March 15, 2017 in Twentynine Palms, California, US
The normally parched landscapes of southern and eastern California have been transformed into a colourful oasis in the past week as swathes of wild flowers have burst into life across the region’s deserts. Unexpected heavy autumn rains and cold winter conditions have caused a rare “super bloom” that last occurred in the El Niño years of 1998 and 2005. These purple sand verbena and desert sunflowers can be seen around the Amboy Crater in the Mojave Trails national monument off Route 66. Photograph: Planetpix/Alamy Live News

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