After 4 Years, California's Wildflower Superbloom Is Back—and It's So Big, It Can Be Seen From Space

Take a look around: You likely see plenty of beautiful flowers blooming after a cold, long winter spent beneath the earth. In your own backyard or a local park, spring brings a welcome resurgence of flora to most parts of the country. One place where this is especially true right now is California, which is currently experiencing a rare superbloom—and it's so big and vibrant, a NASA satellite actually picked up some of its green-and-purple blooms from space, CBS News reports.

A superbloom is a stunning phenomenon that happens when an unusually high amount of wildflowers blossom around the same time. The event typically occurs from February to April in various regions of California. According to the National Park Service, visitors can spot a handful of flowering varieties during a superbloom, including California poppies (the Golden State's regional flower), buck brush, fiddleneck, peppergrass, monkeyflower, and baby blue-eyes.

Despite being a highly anticipated event, California's superbloom doesn't happen every year. Several factors, including a combination of sun, rain, temperature, and wind, determine the arrival of these desert wildflowers. In fact, California hasn't experienced a superbloom since 2019 due to the state's prolonged drought, AccuWeather reports. But following a winter of heavy rainfall, the stunning flowers have returned once again—and they're currently putting on a beautiful show.

"At this point in the season, California's desert state parks are cautiously optimistic in expecting a 'good' to 'better than average' wildflower bloom this late winter and spring seasons depending on the continued weather conditions," the California Department of Parks and Recreation said on its website.

If you're planning to visit this year's rare superbloom, the state urges sightseers to be courteous of the growing vegetation. "State Parks asks visitors to respect the wildflower bloom and vegetation by taking only photos and walking on designated trails when possible," the state's park and recreation website states.