Anza-Borrego Desert in California

Flowering Anza-Borrego Desert in California

Anza-Borrego Desert in California
Every year in March and April people from all over America come to watch the desert blooming different colors. The strength of flowering depends on the number of rain in the winter months. If it rained a lot, the desert is covered with meadows of flowers. If there was not enough rain, the bloom is sluggish, and in some places, the desert does not bloom at all. Desert can be divided into three parts – the top (the one that lies in the mountains), medium (rocky foothills) and lower (sandy valley). In the lower desert mostly desert lily and verbena bloom, evening Primrose and other plants. In the middle of the desert, on the rocky foothills and high mountains, you can find many flowering cactus, and choyi okotiyo. If you climb higher into the mountains, the yucca and agave appear.

Desert lands have long cast a spell on humanity. Many are the stories of people venturing far out into an uncharted desert for months or even years, only to return with wisdom and clarity. At least three of the world’s great religions trace their origins to people of the desert. The
spirits of the deep shadowy canyons of the Carrizo Badlands, the pinyon-clad ridges of the Santa Rosa Mountains, and the glistening heat waves of Clark Dry Lake have cast their spells on millions of visitors to Anza-Borrego Desert.

Countless desert folk speak of being “addicted” to the desert realm, knowing full well the spell has been cast upon them. They know they must return to the land of warm winds, deep infinite skies, and boundless views; land which is at once subtle and harsh. Where one is bombarded by light and suffocated by heat, yet nurtured by the gentle rustling of palm fronds, and the cooling waters of a shaded pool. The spirit of the place swirls around and fills each visitor willing to let it in.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park entirely surrounds the unincorporated communities of Borrego Springs, and Shelter Valley and borders residential areas in Ocotillo Wells, Ranchita, Anza, and Canebrake. It shares a common boundary with Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area on the east, and is adjacent to a combination of public and private lands along its exterior border.

The idea of a large desert park in San Diego County began in September 1927 when Clinton Abbott, Guy Fleming, and Dr. Walter Swingle appealed to Californians to protect the unique native palm groves in what is now Borrego Palm Canyon. From this early call, the park idea gained support from the San Diego Natural History Museum, the San Diego Chamber of Commerce, and the newly formed California State Park Commission. In 1932, in the worst of economic times, funding was generated, mostly through private donations, and the park idea turned into reality. Seventy years later, the Park is comprised of over 600,000 acres of diverse desert and mountain terrain.