The main idea of the passage is that Death Valley National Park in California experienced a rare occurrence in March 2016 when thousands of yellow wildflowers covered the region in a "super bloom," which was unusual given the area's hot and dry climate. This super bloom was the result of an unusually wet season in October 2015, during which the valley received more than three inches of rain in some areas, causing wildflower seeds that had been lying dormant underground to suddenly begin to grow and produce an abundance of golden blooms.