A Tulip Frenzy in the Netherlands
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Metadata
- Sensor(s):
- Landsat 9 - OLI-2
- Data Date: April 29, 2024
- Visualization Date: May 1, 2024
From March to May each year, parts of the Netherlands turn into vibrant seas of flowers. In spring 2024, bursts of colorful blooms were visible in satellite images of the Dutch landscape.
Scores of people travel to the Netherlands each spring to witness its flower-filled fields. Their destination: the “bulb region.” Visitors go there to see the country’s iconic tulips and other spring blooms, including lilies, hyacinths, and daffodils. The season begins in March with purple crocuses, followed by hyacinths and daffodils. It ends after tulips reach peak bloom in late April.
Many bloom-watchers flock to towns south of Amsterdam, such as Lisse (known as “the flower village”). But those who go northeast of the Dutch capital to Kop van Noord-Holland—the northern extent of the North Holland province—will see some of the region’s largest contiguous fields of tulips.
On April 29, 2024, the OLI-2 (Operational Land Imager-2) on Landsat 9 captured these images of the countryside in North Holland, 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Amsterdam. Long, rectangular fields of red, yellow, and pink flowers pop out against the surrounding green and brown terrain.
More than 28,000 hectares (61,000 acres) of land was dedicated to flower bulbs in the Netherlands in 2023, according to Statistics Netherlands. Tulips grew on over half of that area. The iconic Dutch flowers need cold nights and a cold winter, which is why they thrive in the region. The area used to grow flower bulbs in the country grew by 5,000 hectares between 2013 and 2023.
References & Resources
- Copernicus (2024, April 30) Tulips bloom in the Netherlands. Accessed May 2, 2024.
- Eurostat (2023, April 6) EU exported €100.6 million worth of bulbs of orchids and tulips. Accessed May 2, 2024.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2018, May 16) Flower Power in the Netherlands. Accessed May 2, 2024.
- NASA Earth Observatory (2017, April 18) Tulip Mania. Accessed May 2, 2024.
- Statistics Netherlands (CBS) (2024, April 19) Area used to grow bulbs up by more than a fifth since 2013. Accessed May 2, 2024.
- Visit Netherlands Tulip season in The Netherlands. Accessed May 2, 2024.
NASA Earth Observatory images by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Story by Emily Cassidy.
This image record originally appeared on the Earth Observatory. Click here to view the full, original record.