From the cracked mud and seemingly barren plains comes an eruption of color on the alluvial terraces of the Great Valley of California. A succession of rainbows of color in concentric rings around the drying vernal pools -- small, rain-filled depressions with an impermeable layer of clay,hardpan or volcanic material that prevents the water from percolating downward -- vernal pools support a flora and fauna found nowhere else on the face of this planet. Vernal pools were once widespread in the Great Valley, as were the wildflowers that characterize these unique habitats; about 90% of the state's vernal pools are now gone.

Enjoy a program on this fascinating habitat by one of the state's authorities on the subject. Carol Witham, editor of Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Vernal Pool Ecosystems, will present a slideshow on the distribution, ecology, and unique flowers and aquatic organisms of vernal pools.