Vernal pools fill with winter rain then dry by midsummer
Vernal pools are shallow, temporary wetlands that appear when winter rains or snowmelt fill closed basins — then evaporate or drain until the bed cracks dry in summer.
That wet-dry rhythm excludes fish, so fairy shrimp, salamanders, and specialized plants thrive without aquatic predators. Seeds and eggs wait in the mud for the next flood.
A pool that vanishes each year is still a wetland. Its calendar of flooding is the habitat feature that makes its rare biodiversity possible.
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