Rare Bloom Happening In Chile's Atacama Desert

Chile's Atacama desert is blooming with colors, amid plans from authorities to create an artificial irrigation system that will see spring become a regular event in this normally austere landscape.

The blooming of this desert is a rare phenomenon that takes place every five to seven years, with dry sand beds blossoming into a mauve-colored carpet of flowers.

But a pilot project presented by the Atacama Ministry of Agriculture aims to produce flowers during August and September every year.

"We are going to install an irrigation project in different areas of the Atacama Desert region," said the presidential delegate for the Atacama Region Patricio Urquieta on Monday (September 27). "We'll choose places with the easiest access for people."

Some locals, environmentalists and other government authorities such as the Governor of Atacama, Miguel Vargas, believe that this artificially induced bloom might have negative repercussions.

"We don't agree with this idea. We'll see what the scientific basis is for this announcement to artificially intervene a natural phenomenon such as the desert bloom," said Vargas.

Atacama is a major draw for tourists, with its national parks, pristine beaches and spectacular mountainous landscapes. For locals, the blossoming of the desert has become a source of pride.