A pink lake is a lake that has a reddish or pink colour due to the presence of algae that produces carotenoids (organic pigments), such as Dunaliella salina - a type of halophile green micro-algae especially found in sea salt fields. Because of pink color, these lakes are becoming increasingly popular among tourists and photographers from around the world.
1. Lake Hillier, Australia
Lake Hillier, is a lake on Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. It is the most prominent lacustrine feature on any island of the archipelago and air passengers often take note of it.
The specialty of this lake is its flamboyant colour, rose pink. The colour is permanent, as it does not alter when the water is taken in a container. The length of the lake is about 600 m (1970 ft). A narrow strip of land composed of sand dunes covered by vegetation separates it from the ocean.
The lake is surrounded by a rime of white salt and a dense woodland of Paperbark and Eucalypt trees with sand dunes separating the lake from the Southern Ocean to the north. Middle Island and lake were discovered in 1812. [link, map]
2. Lake Retba, Senegal
Lake Retba or Lac Rose lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal, north east of Dakar. It is so named for its pink waters, caused by Dunaliella salina algae in the water.
The color is particularly visible during the dry season. The lake is also known for its high salt content, which, like that of the Dead Sea, allows people to float easily.
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| An aerial shot of salt piled up along the shoreline of Lake Retba link |
The lake also has a small salt collecting industry. Many salt collectors work 6–7 hours a day in the lake, which has a salt content close to 40%.
In order to protect their skin, they rub their skin with "Beurre de Karité" (shea butter, produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut tree), which is an emollient used to avoid tissue damage. [link, map]
3. Salina de Torrevieja, Spain
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| Aerial view of the Salina de Torrevieja from the Mediterranean Sea link |
Salina de Torrevieja and La Salina de La Mata are salt lakes that surrounds Torrevieja - a seaside city in south-eastern Spain. The microclimate formed by La Salina de Torrevieja and La Salina de La Mata, both the biggest saltlakes in Europe, is declared one of the healthiest of Europe by the WHO - World Health Organisation.
Because of the algae and salt quantity Salina de Torrevieja lake looks pink, which gives it a 'sciencefiction' view. Just like the Dead Sea in Israel, you can float on this lake too. Also, it is very healthy for the skin and lungdiseases.
The salt dug from this lake by the factories at the other end is exported to many countries. This lake attracts a large number of bird species. [link1, link2, map]
4. Hutt Lagoon, Australia
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| Hutt Lagoon on the left and Indian Ocean on the right side link |
Hutt Lagoon is a salt lake located near the coast just north of the mouth of the Hutt River, in midwest Western Australia. This body of water is an elongate lake that sits in a dune swale adjacent to the coast.
The town of Gregory is located between the ocean and the lake's southern shores. The road between Northampton and Kalbarri, George Grey Drive, runs along its western edge.
The lake is about 14 km (8.7 mi) in length along its long axis which is oriented in a northwest-southest direction, parallel with the coast. It is around 2 km (1.2 mi) wide.
Hutt Lagoon is a pink lake, a salt lake with a red or pink hue due to the presence of the carotenoid-producing algae Dunaliella salina, a source of ß-carotene, a food-colouring agent and source of vitamin A. The lagoon contains the world's largest microalgae production plant, a 250 ha (1 sq mi) series of artificial ponds used to farm Dunaliella salina. [link, map]
5. Dusty Rose Lake, Canada
This pink lake located in British Columbia, Canada, is quite unusual, unknown and probably unique. The water of this lake is not salty at all, and not contain algae, but it is still pink. In the picture you can see the pink water that runs into the lake. Water color comes from the unique composition of the rocks in this area (rock flour from the glacier).
6. Pink Lake, Australia
Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It lies about 3 kilometres (2 mi) west of Esperance and is bounded to the East by the South Coast Highway.
The lake is not always pink in colour but the distinctive colour of the water when the lake is pink is a result of the green alga Dunaliella salina and or high concentration of brine shrimp. The lake has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA). [link, map]
7. Masazirgol, Azerbaijan
Masazirgol or Masazir Lake is a salty lake of in Qaradag raion, near Baku, Azerbaijan. The overall area of the lake is 10 sq km (3.9 sq mi). Large volumes of chloride and sulphate are concentrated in ion composition of the water.
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| Workers shoveling salt into horse drawn carts link |
A new salt making plant was built in 2010 for production of 2 Azeri brands of salt. The estimated amount of recoverable salt is 1,735 million tons. It is available in liquid (water) and clay forms. [link, map]
8. Quairading Pink Lake, Australia
Quairading Pink Lake is located 11 km (7 mi) east of Quairading (Western Australia) on the Bruce Rock Road. This road passes through the lake.
The Pink Lake is regarded locally as a natural phenomenon. At certain times of the year, one side of the lake becomes dark pink, while the other side remains light pink color. [map]
Bonus: Field of Pink Lakes, Australia
This unusual landscape is photographed from an airplane in Western Australia. Actually, field of pink lakes is somewhere between Esperance and Caiguna.
There are hundreds of small pink lakes and each of them has different shade of pink. This is caused by the fact that every lake has a different concentration of algae and salt in their water.
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Well researched,i clicked the link not expecting to see Quairading Pink Lake but there it was.I drive over this lake daily and at times it is quite impressive.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the information! still a little intriguing but epic
ReplyDeleteYou forgot (among others):
ReplyDelete-Laguna Colorada (Bolivia)
-Champagne Pool (New Zealand)
Subhanallah :')
ReplyDeleteFrom an aerial point of view, they are colored pink. But if one is on the banks of the pink lakes, you will see murky waters that look like mud deposits. I think it is because of the red soil sediments in the deep bed of those lakes.
ReplyDeleteJust collected a bottle of water from lake retba in Senegal last week. Still pink in the bottle today. Don't think it's just mud deposits.
DeleteYeah, but you still can't help but admire it because it's so gorgeous! I've got to see one in Australia during our vacation there. It's just too bad I wasn't able to keep a picture of it because my iPhone broke and all my picture during our trip are there.
ReplyDeleteThe north half of the Great Salt Lake in Utah is pink as well. Talk about a fascinating lake.
ReplyDeleteTruly nice pink lake, I liked your post, Please share a lot of more.........
ReplyDelete