Huge swathes of wildflowers have suddenly bloomed in California in the past week.

In Walker Canyon near Lake Elsinore, in the southern part of the state, wild poppies dot the hills in a spectacular burst of colour.

This phenomenon, known as super bloom, requires a period of steady rain followed by warm temperatures, which cause seeds lying dormant underground for decades to flourish.

In California, super blooms happen about once a decade in a particular area, and have been occurring less frequently with the drought. But a recent bout of rain has resulted in a second super bloom since last December, reported the Associated Press.