Photos of pink lakes seem like a good job in Photoshop. Indeed, there are many fakes on the internet, but a handful of gum-colored lakes around the world got their shade without the help of a photo editor filter. The unnatural color of lakes is usually the result of the interaction of microorganisms with salt water. In fact, almost all pink lakes in the world. Where are these lakes located? Australia has an impressive collection, but unusual lakes are also found in South America, West Africa, Eastern Europe and Mexico. Some of these places are protected, others are very remote from civilization. The pink lakes serve as great natural attractions, although the salty water makes them not the best option for summer swimming.
Here are some examples of the unique phenomenon of pink lakes:
Lake Koyashskoe, Crimea
Lake Koyashskoye, sometimes called Opukskoye, is located on the Crimean peninsula. The color of the water here varies from pink to red, depending on the season. In the spring, the pink color is well pronounced, and in the summer the shade is darker and more saturated. Koyashskoye Lake is popular among local residents, but it is little known for tourists, due to the current political situation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation on this peninsula.
Why is Koyashskoye Lake pink? Like many salt lakes, it is filled with halobacteria, microorganisms that secrete a pink protein when absorbed by solar energy. Some also attribute the pink color to brine shrimp, which thrive in salt. By the end of summer, a significant amount of water in Lake Koyashskoye evaporates, and salt remains along its coast.
Lake Hillier, Australia
Lake Hillier is located on Middle Island off the south west coast. The water in the lake has a pink tint, and the color does not change, even if water is collected in a container. Hillier is surrounded by eucalyptus and sand.
Most people believe that Hiller's deep color comes from a combination of algae and salt-loving halobacteria. Other pink lakes change color depending on the season, the angle of the sun's rays or the temperature of the air. Lake Hillier remains the same shade of pink throughout the year due to the presence of algae (such as Dunaliella brackish) and other microorganisms. Unfortunately, tourists have to admire this reservoir from the air, since it is almost impossible to get to it by land.
Lake Retba, Senegal
Lake Retba is located on the edge of the Cap Ver peninsula, in Senegal. Sand dunes separate its waters from the Atlantic Ocean. Retba is known all over the world as the former finish point of the famous Paris-Dakar Rally. Locals call it Lac Rose. Water has a salt content that is sometimes compared to salinity. The pink hue is due to the presence of what is known as Dunaliella brackish.
The main industry here is the salt industry. About 1,000 workers collect 24,000 tons of salt from the lake every year. The lake is easy to visit because it is only 30 km from Dakar, the capital and economic center of Senegal.
Pink Lake in Las Coloradas, Mexico
The lake is located three hours from the tourist town of Playa del Carmen. The lake gets its pink color thanks to microorganisms that synthesize beta-carotene (the precursor of vitamin A, which gives color to vegetables such as carrots).
The lake is located in a remote part of the Yucatan Peninsula. Kilometers of empty beaches stretch from the nearest tourist center to the lake. Pink Lake is located outside the small fishing village of Las Coloradas. There is a salt factory nearby. Travel magazine Afar advises tourists visiting the region in winter and early spring to look out for large groups of migratory birds such as flamingos and pelicans.
Salt lake in Torrevieja, Spain
Pink Lake is located on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, near the city of Torrevieja. It is located between the sea and two salt lakes, which helps create what makes this place one of the best in the region. The rose waters here are believed to have health benefits.
During the migratory season, many flamingos can be seen in this area. They spend time here together with other migratory birds due to the high concentration (brine shrimp) in the salt water.
Lake Masazir, Azerbaijan
Despite its unique hue, this lake is not on the tourist map, although it is located just a few kilometers from Baku, the cultural and economic center of Azerbaijan. To get there, tourists must either hire a car or take a shuttle bus and walk a few more kilometers to the lake. Pink is the brightest color in warm weather.
Like other salt lakes, Masazir is home to an intense salt industry. Workers are mining salt in small areas. Industry is concentrated in the village of Masazir.
Lake Natron, Tanzania
Lake Natron is located in the Arusha region, in northern Tanzania, Africa. The same types of salt-loving microorganisms that color other salt lakes create shades of pink and red in Lake Natron. However, the lake is famous not only for its color. The nearby mineral springs feed it with large amounts of sodium carbonate, which turns dead animals into stone statues. Photos of mummified birds that surfaced on the Internet a few years ago have given the place an ominous image that it may not deserve.
Lake Natron supports wildlife. The water is really perfect for the cyanobacteria that long-legged birds feed on.
Lagoon Colorado, Bolivia
Although it can be described as a "pink" lake, Laguna Colorado often has a red or reddish brown hue. Salt algae and bacteria help create this color, but precipitation from nearby rocks also affects the color of the water.
As with some other pink lakes, flamingos are common here. A South American species of James Flamingo, found on the lake in large numbers to feed on microorganisms. Andean and Chilean flamingos are also present in Laguna Colorado. Minerals form other colorful lakes in the Bolivian high plains. For example, Laguna Verde contains deep emerald-colored water.
Hutt Lagoon, Australia
Lagoon Hutt is one of several famous lakes in Australia. Scientists believe this body of water was once part of the mouth of the Hutt River, but now the lake is separated and fed by salt water seeping from the ground. Water evaporation is most intense during the hottest summer in Western Australia. During this time, most of the lake may dry out and a layer of salt will remain on the soil. Even in wetter periods of the year, the lake reaches a depth of only about a meter.
The pink color is due to carotenoid-producing algae. Like other salt lakes, Hutt Lagoon has a large population of shrimp.
Great Salt Lake, Utah
The Great Salt Lake is not known as the "pink lake". However, since its salinity is almost 10 times higher, the lake provides ideal conditions for halophilic microorganisms. The salinity level of the lake changes: in the southern part, the water is less salty than in the northern part, where only the most hardy microorganisms survive.
In the old days, Lake Retba was a lagoon that was connected to the ocean by a narrow channel. But the Atlantic surf, gradually washing up sand, covered the channel, and the lagoon turned into a rather deep salt lake. In the 1970s, a period of droughts began in Senegal, as a result of which the reservoir became very shallow.
It was then that Lake Retba acquired its unusual shade. The reason for the unique color of the water is that cyanobacteria live in the lake - the oldest microorganisms that appeared on Earth 3.5 billion years ago. Surprisingly, there is no other organic life besides them in this saturated saline solution. The salt concentration in Retba Lake is almost 1.5 times higher than in the Dead Sea - 380 grams per liter. In Pink Lake, like the Dead Sea, it is very difficult to drown. You can safely swim on the surface of the water while reading a book or newspaper.
The color of the water of the Senegalese lake can change its shade from light pink to brown. The color saturation depends on the time of day, on cloudiness, and especially on the wind, since when the wind is strong, the cyanobacteria is activated and produces more enzyme that turns the water pink.
An unusual lake lies northeast of the Cape Verde peninsula, at the extreme southern end of which is the city of Dakar. You can get to Dakar International Airport only with a transfer, there are no direct flights from Russia and Ukraine. Flight options include Iberia via Madrid, Lufthansa via Frankfurt, Air France via Paris, Alitalia via Milan and North African carriers: Royal Air Maroc via Casablanca, Air Algerie via Algeria and Tunisair via Tunisia.
The two-kilometer coastline of Lake Retba is densely strewn with flat-bottomed boats, very similar to those in Russia. But they do not fish, do not go to the neighboring village and do not carry hay. On the Pink Lake, boats are used only for the extraction of salt.
Today people are mining salt, standing up to their necks in water - 20 years ago they moved around the lake without swimming equipment - the water level in it reached the waist. And due to the extraction of a huge amount of salt (about 25 thousand tons per year), the depth of the lake is rapidly increasing.
Every morning, dozens of local men, taking the necessary equipment, swim to the middle of the lake and climb into the very salty water. They break up salt deposits at the bottom of the reservoir with special hooks, and then scoop up the salt with shovels and load it into boats. A high concentration of saline solution can corrode the skin in just a few tens of minutes, resulting in difficult-to-heal ulcers on the body. To prevent this, hunters, before getting into the boat, rub themselves with shea butter, which is extracted from the fruit of the tallow tree.
When a cake full of salt lands on the shore, the male mission ends there - women unload salt from boats. They wear basins on their heads, loaded with wet salt, weighing more than 25 kg, and pour it on the shore of the lake to dry. Initially, the salt extracted from the reservoir has a dark gray color, but under the influence of tropical sunlight, it gradually begins to turn white. Each pile of salt contains a sign with the owner's number. Here she can wait for wholesale buyers for a year or two.
The salt that is mined here is exported to African countries and, as an exotic product, even to Europe. Basically, the inhabitants of Senegal are content with salt, which they received from sea water. But sometimes local restaurants serve fish baked in salt from Retba Lake.
Workers live here, on the shores of Lake Rose, in a small village, in shacks built from scrap materials: plastic sheeting, reeds, sheet iron and old car tires. They come here to work from neighboring African countries and from the Senegalese provinces, but stay no more than a few years due to the harsh working conditions. However, by the standards of this country, they make good money.
Due to the active extraction of salt, Lake Retba grows shallow every year. Over the past ten years, the area of the Senegalese lake has decreased almost three times, and if measures are not taken in the near future to protect this natural object, it may disappear from the face of the earth forever.
Our planet is teeming with many mystical, unexplored, scary and incredibly beautiful places. The red and pink lakes are named after the color of their waters. Most often they have shades of red: pink, crimson, scarlet and closer to orange. Many of them are dangerous and inspire feelings of fear and dread.
Scientists say that this color of the lake is due to microorganisms that live in their waters.
Tanzania's eerie Red Lake Natron turns all life into stone
In Africa, on the border with Kenya, in Tanzania there is the ominous Lake Narton. Everyone who touches him turns to stone. So far, these are only careless birds.
Why do they become petrified? It's simple: the ideal alkalinity of pH is from 9 to 10.5 and the salt keeps the corpses in the same state that you see in the photo.
But the lake cannot be called dead - it is home to millions of pink flamingos. Birds come here to breed. This is an ideal habitat for them: predators bypass this lake, and blue-green algae with red pigments go well for food.
How to get to Lake Natron? From Kilimanjaro airport to Arusha 50 km. And from Arusha another 240 km. There are no special tours to this lake, but there is an item on the list of the tour to the Oldoinyo-Lengai volcano: a visit to Lake Natron. On its own, of course, it will be much more expensive. You can also see the red lake on a safari to the Serengeti National Park or the Great Rift Valley.
Bloody Red Lagoon Colorado in Bolivia
Another reddish lake Laguna Colorado is located in Bolivia, in the place of Eduardo Avaroa on the Altiplano. It is a state park with a salt lake. Borax deposits and some algae give the water color.
The lake is inhabited by the same pink flamingos. Crowds of tourists from all over the world come to see these beautiful birds and an equally beautiful shallow lake.
How to get to Red Lagoon? You can get there from the town of Tupitsa or Uyuni by jeep (300 km.). The place can be visited as part of the Andes tour.
Koyashskoe mineral lake in Crimea
Koyashskoe Lake is located near the Borisovka resort, in the Opuksky Bay, in the Cimmerian steppes.
To contemplate the beauty of the lake. Its deep pink color and bizarre stone structures in salt crystals are worth coming to contemplate in July-August. The water recedes and the salt is shown outward, settling on everything that it meets on its way.
How to get there (get there)? From the side of Feodosia, get to Borisovka and on a dirt road - by your own transport. By public transport from Kerch to Maryevka and then on foot 7 km.
Red salt lake Sasyk-Sivash in Crimea
And this is another lake on the Crimean peninsula, not far from the resort of Evpatoria. Lake Sasyk-Sivash is pink due to the evaporation of mineral salt. During evaporation, many microalgae carotenoids appear.
The healing properties of salt have attracted tourists for a long time. It has a high content of magnesium and potassium, bromine and calcium.
Another whimsical moment with the Sasyk-Sivash lake is the “boiling of the lake”. This miracle is understandable - the underwater fountains (griffins) are to blame.
How to get to Sasyk-Sivash lake? You can take an electric train from Evpatoria to Saki. Then take a bus to Pribrezhnoe and walk 2 km. or by car.
Salt Chokraskoe Lake is located not far from the village of Kurortnoye on the Kerch Peninsula. It, like all of the above, has the property of water to turn pinkish-red. The reason for this is unicellular algae.
Tourists strive here not only to gaze at the lake, but also to get medical treatment behind the healing mud.
How to get there? By bus from Kerch to the village of Kurortnoye and 2 km. on foot.
Pink lakes are generally dominant in Australia. There is a large accumulation of these unusual water areas. Lake Hillier is located on the largest Middle Island in Western Australia.
How to get here? The problem is that the island is not inhabited, and you can see it from the plane's window. Although Australian travel companies offer boat trips.
Lake Retba in Senegal
The Pink Lake Retba is located near the capital city of Dakar in Senegal.
Pink lake in Altai
Rather, not one pink lake, but two. The first lake Bursol or Buturlinskoe is located in the Slavogorodsky region of the Altai Territory (the village of Bursol), 500 km away. from Barnaul in the steppe. And the second one is called - Raspberry Lake, located 400 km away. from the capital of Altai, near the village of the same name, Raspberry Lake.
These salty pink lakes are a great place to relax and prevent the treatment of many diseases. It is clear that the only industry here is salt mining. The pink color of the lakes is due to the crustaceans Artemia and nauplii.
It is better to get there by your own transport or from Branaul by bus: to Raspberry Lake - to the village of Mikhailovskoe, to Buturlinskoe - to Slavgorod.
It would seem, what else can surprise the mainland, in which almost everything is unusual? But Lake Hillier, with its bright pink water, is an unsolved miracle of stunning Australian nature.
It is located in the Recherche archipelago, on its Middle (Middle), off the southern coast of Australia. Lake Hillier is salty and shallow, and the water in it is juicy and dense. When you fly low enough, you get a stunning view worthy of the brush of a surrealist artist: in the middle of the island lies a bright pink oval with smooth edges, framed by a white "frame" of sea salt and dark green eucalyptus forest. The pink surface of Lake Hillier is often compared to a giant bubble gum or glittering icing for a cake.
The story of a miracle
The pink lake in Australia was first mentioned back in 1802 in the notes of Matthew Flinders. This renowned British hydrographer and navigator stopped at Middle Island during his trip to Sydney.
Then whalers and hunters who lived off the southern coast of the mainland in the 30-40s of the 19th century told about this lake.
At the beginning of the last century, it was decided to mine salt here, but after six years the activity ceased. And in the 50s, they conducted the first scientific studies of an amazing color.
Now Lake Hillier, Australia, is visited by numerous tourists who want to see for themselves that it really is as pink as in the photographs.
Interesting fact
The water looks bright pink in any quantity, even in a small vessel, regardless of the angle of view.
Imagine a sunset when the orange sun slowly sinks into clear pink water in the pale pink Australian sky!
A little information
The dimensions of the reservoir are quite small - about 600 meters long and 200 meters wide. The amazing pink water is separated from the ocean by a sandy strip covered with a dense eucalyptus forest. A white ring of sea salt has naturally appeared around the lake, which adds additional contrast. It is rather difficult to approach the lake because of the dense ring that surrounds the lake. But, nevertheless, you can walk here and even swim in the salty pink water!
Why is it pink?
Scientists believed that Lake Hillier owes its rich pink color to a special Dunaliella salina, which in very salty water emit a bright red pigment. Similar algae have been found in other pink lakes in the world.
Samples from Lake Hillier were carefully studied, but no traces of the alleged algae were found. The studies were carried out by different scientists and at different times, so there is no doubt about the reliability of the result. The color of the water has remained a mystery so far.
Australia loves to amaze the imagination with such things, so the pink Hill Hill has taken its rightful place among the living wonders of local nature, along with the bright red Shark Harbor, the Te Pinnacles Peaked Cliff Desert in Nambung National Park, the Bangle Bangle Striped Mountains, Kangaroo Island, the desert The Simpsons and the Great Barrier Reef.
Senegal, which is located in West Africa, is famous for the extraordinary Pink Lake, with its color reminiscent of a strawberry cocktail. Lake Retba is an amazing natural phenomenon, unique in its kind, with a truly rich pink color. This fact made it one of the main attractions of Senegal. What is the secret of this miracle of nature, why does the lake have such a color, and what life stories are associated with it?
In fact, everything is quite simple, the water in Retba Lake is salty to such an extent that it is suitable for the life of only one species of microorganisms, which, in turn, give a color that ranges from pale pink to brown. The salt concentration index here is many times higher than the value in the Dead Sea. The intensity of the color varies with the time of day, namely the angle of incidence of the sun's rays, as well as the weather. During drought, pink is most pronounced.
Pink Lake is located near the Atlantic coast, 30 km from the capital of Senegal - Dakar. Retba's area is 3 square kilometers.
There is a whole village on the shore of the lake, and the locals spend whole days taking salt from the bottom of the lake and pouring it into boats. This work is very hard, but the pay for it is not bad either.
Previously, Retba Lake was not a lake at all, once upon a time it was a lagoon. But year after year, the Atlantic surf brought sand, which later caused the disappearance of the channel connecting the lagoon with the ocean. For many years the lake was unremarkable. But in the 70s, a severe drought happened in Senegal, Retba was crushed, and the extraction of salt, which lay in a large layer at the bottom, became quite a profitable business.
It is nowadays that people are mining salt in the lake, standing up to their shoulders in water, but about 20 years ago there was so little of it that it was possible to walk. By extracting a huge amount of salt from the bottom of the Pink Lake, people very quickly make it deeper. In some places, the bottom level dropped by three or more meters.
Video: AROUND THE WORLD: Pink Lake Retba
