Before and after: How Carrizo Plain superbloom seen from space compares to drought of 2021

A satellite photo of San Luis Obispo County’s superbloom released by NASA this month shows a stark contrast to the same location during the drought two years ago.

In April 2021, an image captured by the Operational Land Imager-2 (OLI-2) on Landsat 9 shows an arid and dusty scene in the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

In the middle of the image is a dry Soda Lake, its white salt beds standing out against the surrounding tan terrain.

Hints of green can be seen in the hills, but no flower fields are visible.

Fast-forward two years, and the same view is a lush expanse of color, thanks to a winter of historic rains.

A now-full Soda Lake is surrounded by green fields and hills, accented by large swaths of yellow wildflowers that are so vast, they were captured by the satellite’s camera.

“The seasonal spectacle was visible from space,” NASA wrote. “Compared to an image taken in April 2022, the area is considerably greener and more colorful.”

Use our slider tool below to compare the two images:

This story was originally published April 12, 2023 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Before and after: How Carrizo Plain superbloom seen from space compares to drought of 2021."