Pink lake where it is located. Amazing pink lakes. Why is it pink

Senegal, which is located in West Africa, is famous for the extraordinary Pink Lake, its color reminiscent of a strawberry cocktail. Lake Retba is an amazing natural phenomenon, unique in its kind, with a really rich pink color. It is this fact that has 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 Lake Retba is salty to such an extent that it is suitable for the life of only one type of microorganisms, which, in turn, give a color that varies from pale pink to brown. The salt concentration here is many times higher than the value in the Dead Sea. The intensity of the color changes depending on the time of day, namely on the angle of incidence of the sun's rays, as well as on the weather. During drought, the pink color is most pronounced.

Pink Lake is located near the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, 30 km from the capital of Senegal - Dakar. The Retba area is 3 square kilometers.

A whole village is spread out on the shore of the lake, and the locals spend the whole day extracting 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.

Previously, Lake Retba 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 to the ocean. For many years the lake was unremarkable. But in the 70s, there was a severe drought in Senegal, the Retba became shallow, and the extraction of salt, which lay in a large layer at the bottom, became quite a profitable business.

It is at present that people extract salt in the lake, standing up to their shoulders in water, but about 20 years ago there was so little of it that one could walk. 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: Retba Pink Lake

African nature is sometimes extremely amazing, so more and more tourists are striving to get to this continent.

Another miracle is the Pink Lake Retba, located near the capital of Senegal. From Cape Verde, you should head northeast to get to this place.

The reservoir got its name because of the unusual and amazing color, which is actually pink with an admixture of milk. The lake was named so by local residents belonging to the Wolof people.

Its area is small - 3 square kilometers, while the maximum depth is only 3 meters in some places.

Pink lake Retba in Senegal

Once on the site of Pink Lake there was a lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean, only the waters constantly washed sand, which led to the disappearance of the channel. As a result, a salt lake with a fairly decent depth appeared.

However, already in the 70s of the 20th century, droughts began in the country, which led to a constant and significant decrease in the volume of the reservoir, so the Pink Lake Retba eventually became shallow, while the concentration of salts in the water increased.

At the same time, the lake acquired its color, thanks to which it has an unusual name and attracts travelers from all over the world. There are a couple of reasons why the color is the way it is:

• increased salinity;
• microorganisms.

Salt in water has such a high concentration that its indicator exceeds this parameter of the Dead Sea by one and a half times and is 380 g/liter. In this regard, any swimmer keeps well on the surface, it is almost impossible to drown in the Pink Lake Retba, rest on the water is really relaxing and relaxing.

Naturally, such a huge salinity of the reservoir has led to the fact that few inhabitants can survive in these conditions, therefore the main inhabitants are the most ancient cyanobacteria - Dunaliella salina, which have been living on the planet for several billion years. Thanks to them, the shade of water is so extraordinary.

At the same time, Pink Lake is not always the same color, the color is affected by:

• Times of Day;
• cloudiness;
• wind.

It is during windy weather that microorganisms are most active, at the same time they produce the largest amount of pink enzyme. In general, the color palette can be from light pink to deep brown.

The entire coastline of this colored lake is filled with small boats, which are not intended for swimming or fishing, but for the main local occupation - salt mining.

If a couple of decades ago, salt miners worked, standing in water only to the waist, now the main depth is up to the neck. Such an increase in the depth of the reservoir is due to the fact that the volumes of salt produced are extremely large - more than 20 tons per year.

This process of obtaining this important product is simple - every day local men go to the Pink Lake, in its very center they plunge into the water with all the devices. Since salt is accumulated at the bottom, it is beaten off with hooks, removed from the liquid with shovels and placed in a boat. All this is done by touch, because the head is always above the surface.

Such fishing is dangerous, as salt water corrodes the skin, forming wounds that heal for a long time. The only way to protect yourself from this is with fat, so miners cover themselves with shea butter before diving.

Men's work consists in the direct extraction of salt from the lake, everything else is done by women, who are included in the process already from unloading the filled boat.

From the reservoir, salt is moved on the head, for this, about 25 kilograms of a wet product are placed in containers, which are carried in this way to a drying place on the coast.

The color of the salt changes during processing:

• dark gray when mined;
• more white when lying in the sun.

Salt remains lying on the shore in heaps until wholesale buyers come for it, until this moment a year may pass and more. This product is exported mainly to the countries of the Black Continent, sometimes it is also sent to Europe, where it is considered exotic.

Local Africans rarely use lake salt, most often they use sea salt in everyday life, but in restaurants they sometimes bake fish in it.

Salt workers live right on the shore of the lake, for them there is a small village in which frail dwellings are built from the available materials with their own hands. Usually residents of not only but also other African countries work here, because they pay good money for such work. Only the conditions are very difficult, so earnings usually last only a few years.

For visiting tourists who want to look at the pink reservoir, there are several hotels. To make your vacation memorable, we recommend:

• swim in a boat on the pink water surface;
• go on a jeep tour around the lake;
• buy a few souvenirs sold here on the spot.

A pink lake is a lake that has a reddish or pink color due to the presence of algae that produce carotenoids (organic pigments)

A pink lake is a lake that has a reddish or pink color due to the presence of algae that produce carotenoids (organic pigments). These include algae such as Dunaliella salina, which is a type of halophile green microalgae that lives in particularly salty sea water. Thanks to their pink color, these lakes are becoming more and more popular among tourists and photographers from all over the world.

1 Lake Hillier, Australia

This reservoir is located on the edge of the Middle Island (Middle Island), which is part of the Exploration Archipelago, stretching for tens of kilometers along the southern coast of Western Australia. The peculiarity of the lake is its bright pink color. The color of the water is constant and does not change if water is poured into a container. The length of the lake is about 600 meters. It is separated from the ocean by a narrow strip of land, consisting of sand dunes covered with vegetation.

For the first time people discovered an unusual lake in 1802. Then the British navigator Matthew Flinders decided to stop on the island on his way to Sydney. What was the surprise of the traveler when, among the dense forests of the island, he stumbled upon a pink reservoir. The lake is surrounded by white salt deposits and dense forests of tea and eucalyptus trees. To the north, sand dunes separate the lake from the Southern Ocean.

The lake is very popular and tourists tend to get there, even passengers of planes flying over the lake take pictures of this miracle of nature.

2. Retba, Senegal

Lake Retba or Pink Lake is located east of the Cape Vert peninsula in Senegal, northeast of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. It got its name because of the color of the water in which Dunaliella salina algae grow.

The color is especially noticeable during the dry season. The lake is also known for its high salt content, which, like the Dead Sea, makes it easy for people to float.

There is a small salt mining business on the lake. Many workers who collect salt work 6-7 hours a day in the lake, which has a salt content of about 40%. To protect their skin, they rub "Beurre de Karité" (shea butter) into it, which softens the skin and prevents tissue damage. What today is called Lake Retba was once a lagoon. But the Atlantic surf gradually washed up the sand, and in the end the channel that connected the lagoon with the ocean turned out to be covered up. For a long time, Retba remained an unremarkable salt lake.

But in the 70s of the last century, a series of droughts hit Senegal, Retba became very shallow and the extraction of salt, which lay in a thick layer at the bottom, became quite profitable. At the same time, the water in the lake acquired a pink hue due to microorganisms that can exist in a saturated saline solution.

Amazingly colored water and charming boats completely cover the two-kilometer coastline of Pink Lake, or Lake Retba, as it is called in the language of the Wolof people, the largest ethnic group in Senegal.

Besides them, there is no other organic life in Retba - for algae, not to mention fish, such a salt concentration is detrimental. It is here almost one and a half times higher than in the Dead Sea - three hundred and eighty grams per liter!

3. Salt Lake Torrevieja (Alina de Torrevieja), Spain

Torrevieja Salt Lake and La Mata Salt Lake are salt lakes surrounding Torrevieja, a seaside town in southeastern Spain. The microclimate created by the largest salt lakes in Europe - Torrevieja and La Mata, is declared one of the healthiest in Europe, according to the World Health Organization.

Alina de Torrevieja and La Salina de La Mata are the largest salt lakes in Europe. A special type of algae grows in the water, which gives the water a pink tint. The pink color of Lake Torrevieja, caused by the presence of algae and salt, gives it a "science fiction" look. Just like in the Dead Sea in Israel, here you can also just lie on the surface of the water. In addition, it will bring great benefits for the prevention and treatment of diseases of the skin and lungs. At the other end of the lake, salt is being mined, which is exported to different countries. Near the lake you can see a huge number of bird species.

4. Hutt Lagoon, Australia

Hutt Lagoon is depicted on the left side, and the Indian Ocean is on the right.

Hutt Lagoon is an elongated salt lake located off the coast north of the mouth of the Hutt River in midwestern Western Australia. It is located in the dunes adjacent to the coast.

Hutt Lagoon was once the mouth of the 60 km (37 miles) Hutt River, but at some point in the prehistoric past, the river changed its course and the mouth remained isolated from both the river and the sea.

The city of Gregory is located between the ocean and the southern shores of the lake. The road between Northampton (Northampton) and Kalbari (Kalbarri), called George Gray Drive (George Gray Drive), runs along the western edge of the lake.

The lake acquired this color due to the abundance of the same algae that produce beta-carotene.

This lagoon is home to the world's largest microalgae farm. The total area of ​​small artificial ponds in which Dunaliella saline is bred is 250 hectares. The lake is 14 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide.

Hutt Lagoon is a salty pink lake that has a red or pink hue due to the presence of Dunaliella saline in the water. Algae of this species produce carotenoids, which are a source of beta-carotene, food coloring and a source of vitamin A.

5. Lake Masazirgol, Azerbaijan

Masazir Lake is a salt lake in the Karadag region near Baku, Azerbaijan. The total area of ​​the lake is 10 square kilometers. The ionic composition of water contains large amounts of chloride and sulfate.

In 2010, a plant for the production of 2 types of Azeri salt was opened here. The approximate reserve of salt that can be extracted is 1735 million tons. It can be mined both in liquid state (from water) and in solid state.

Due to the high content of sulfate, the water in the lake is pink.

6. Dusty Rose Lake, Canada

This pink lake, located in British Columbia, Canada, is quite unusual, little known, and possibly unique. The water in this lake is not at all salty, and does not contain algae, but it still has a pink color. The photo shows pink water flowing into the lake. The color of the water is due to the unique combination of rocks in the area (stone dust from the glacier).

7. Pink Lake Quairading (Quairading), Australia

Pink Lake Kwairading is located 11 kilometers east of the city of Kwairading (Western Australia). The Bruce Rock Highway passes through it. The local population considers Pink Lake a natural wonder. At some times, one side of the lake turns deep pink while the other side remains pale pink.

8. Pink Lake, Australia

Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is located about 3 kilometers west of Esperanza and is connected to the east by the South Coast Highway. The lake is not always pink, but the distinctive color of the water when the lake takes on a pink hue is the result of the green algae Dunaliella brackish, as well as a high concentration of brine shrimp. The lake has been designated an Important Bird Habitat by the International Bird Protection and Habitat Conservation Organization.

9. And Another Natural Wonder: Pink Lake Field, Australia

This unusual landscape was captured from an airplane in western Australia. This field of pink lakes is located somewhere between the city of Esperance and Caiguna. There are hundreds of small pink lakes on the field, and each of them has its own unique shade of pink. This is due to the fact that the concentration of algae and salt in each lake is different from all the others.

There are many sights in Crimea. The most famous of them are: the Grand Canyon, Mount Ai-Petri and the Swallow's Nest. However, there are other very interesting, but, unfortunately, little-known places on this peninsula. Pink Lake belongs to the category of such attractions. In Crimea, it is the most salty.

Where is located?

This interesting object for visiting tourists is located on the territory of Cape Opuk, about 30 km from Kerch. Once upon a time there was a military training ground in this place. But not so long ago, the Opuk nature reserve was created here. The area of ​​this reserve is not too large. But at the same time, just a huge number of various kinds of rare birds live on its territory. Opuk was withdrawn from the command of the military training ground in 1998. At the moment, it includes not only this cape itself, but also part of the coastal territory, as well as the remnants standing in the sea, called “Rocks-Ships” for their unusual shape.

Pink Lake itself in the Crimea is located on Opuk in the immediate vicinity of the Black Sea. This reservoir is separated from it only by a not too wide sand embankment.

A bit of history

Story ( bcnjhbz) at the Pink Lake in the Crimea is quite interesting. It belongs to the volcanic group. That is, it has been formed for a very, very long time. In fact, even today its bottom is a dormant volcano. Not so long ago, Pink Lake was part of the Black Sea. However, later the surf brought a lot of sand here. Because of this, an embankment was formed.

Short description

So, where the Pink Lake is located in the Crimea, we found out. It is located near Kerch. Its official name is Koyashskoe. The size of this unusual reservoir is quite large. Its total area is about 5 hectares. The lake is 4 km long and 2 km wide. Swimming in this reservoir will not work. Its depth in spring reaches only 1 meter. By autumn, the lake dries up completely. This body of water is actually very salty. Therefore, practically no living creatures are found in it. The concentration of salt in it reaches 350 grams per liter. This is definitely a lot. Koyashskoye is the saltiest body of water on the Crimean peninsula.

The mud in this lake is healing. They are mined and delivered for the treatment of vacationers in local sanatoriums. You can't swim in this lake. However, you can smear yourself with mud on the shore. In order to wash them off, water is enough.

Why pink?

The main feature of this reservoir, which attracts tourists to it, is, of course, not at all a shallow depth or high salt content. The lake was called pink, of course, not in vain. The water in it really has such a shade. This pond looks especially beautiful at sunset. Actually, the name Koyashskoye itself is translated as "a lake in which the sun hides."

In the spring, the water in this reservoir has an ugly brown-brown dirty color. However, already in June, with an increase in air temperature, its shade begins to change rapidly. This is primarily due to the vital activity of the algae that reproduces in the lake. Dunaliella Salina.It produces beta-carotene and gives the water a delicate, juicy pink tint.

When is the best time to go?

In spring, the water in Lake Koyashskoye is not very beautiful. But you can admire the surroundings of this reservoir in April-May. At this time, just a huge number of tulips bloom along the shores of the lake. They cover the local hills with almost a carpet.

For the same toappreciate the beautymostPink Lake in Crimea, it is worth coming here in the middle - end of summer. It is during this period that algae develop most actively, and the water actually acquires a beautiful shade.

Closer to autumn, the lake, as already mentioned, dries up. But at this time it looks quite impressive. The fact is that the beta-carotene contained in its water turns salt and pink.

Later, in autumn, due to rains, the lake begins to draw water again. Its layer at this time of the year in its bowl is not too large - about 2 cm. But because of it, the lake looks like a huge clean mirror. Tourists walking along the reservoir at this time of the year feel like they are floating in the air because of the reflected clouds.

How to get to Pink Lake in Crimea?

Get to this unusual natural objectOn the peninsula, you can follow the Feodosia-Kerch highway. On the sign "Marfovo-Marievka",before reaching about 20 km from the city,you need to turn towards the Black Sea. The road ahead is not very good. You should be prepared for this. Having reached the village of Maryevka, you need to turn straight to the coast onto a country road. You may not be able to drive through it in a regular car, because it is heavily pitted. Some part of the way, most likely, will have to be overcome on foot. But by jeep to get to the capeThe puff will turn out no problem.

Opuk Nature Reserve

Where is Pink Lake in Crimea located specifically -understandably. But to go on an excursion to him spontaneously is still not worth it.Illegal entry into the reserveat Cape Opukprohibited. In order to get into the reserve, you needfirstobtain a pass by first submitting an application to its administration. Hereshouldindicate the purpose of the visit, the number of people wishing to inspect the cape and their age.You don't need to travel anywhere to apply. Do itpossible, for example, via the Internet. The reserve has its own VKontakte group.

Other Pink Lakes of Crimea

Looks Koyashskoe is actually very beautiful. However, in the Crimea there are also other salt lakes of the same pleasant color. In this case, the effect is caused by the same algae. On the territory of the peninsula, for example, lakes such as Krasnoi and Staroe have a pink tint.

Both reservoirs are located on the territoryKrasnoperekopsky City Councilin the west of the peninsula. These lakes also look very impressive.

If you try to search the Internet for information or photos about Lake Retba in Senegal, and then you want to see a photo of Lake Hillier in Australia, you will be surprised to find that half of the material about these lakes simply intersect. That is, they write about one lake, and photographs of another and vice versa. There you are one of the examples. This is not surprising since both of these lakes are PINK.

Let's try to sort information and photos on these lakes so that they are not confused in the future.

Let's start with a lake in Senegal.

Lake Retba

In the language of the Wolof people, the main ethnic group of Senegal, the lake is called Retba. A water mirror with an area of ​​three square kilometers is located near the Cape Verde peninsula. And this reservoir looks like in a fairy tale about a milky river with jelly banks, only here it’s the other way around: the water is pink, like cranberry jelly, but the shores are white, like milk, or, more precisely, like salt. But let's start, as they say, from the very beginning.

Photo 1.

Many years ago, the lake was a lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow channel. Gradually, the ocean waves washed up the sand, which blocked the channel, and the lagoon turned into a salt lake, at first quite deep. However, in the 1970s, droughts began in Senegal, and the lake became very shallow. Now its greatest depth does not exceed three meters.
The water in Retba is really bright pink, and the reason for the unique color is that cyanobacteria live in the lake - the oldest microorganisms that appeared in the Earth's biosphere 3.5 billion years ago. But admiration is not only their respectable age. These bacteria are one of the few that can survive in the thick brine that is the water of Pink Lake. The salt concentration here is 380 grams per liter, that is, almost one and a half times higher than in the Dead Sea. Salt lies in a thick layer at the bottom of the lake, and thanks to this, the local population can live almost comfortably - according to African, of course, concepts.

Photo 2.

Flat-bottomed boats are located along the entire coastline. This picture is reminiscent of the streets of our cities with cars parked at the sidewalk, but only every boat owner here has a place historically assigned to him, which no one dares to take. Boats here are not a luxury and, in general, not even a means of transportation. They are necessary in order to extract salt. Every year, by joint efforts, people raise about twenty-five thousand tons of salt from the bottom, thereby deepening the lake. If earlier it was possible to ford it, now such walks, “like on land”, are practically impossible.
Every morning here begins with the fact that the local men come out of their houses and, stretching, head to the lake.

However, to call these buildings houses can only be a stretch. Yes, and shacks, too, they are hardly worth calling. These are original huts built from improvised means - reed stalks, car tires, plastic bags ... And visitors from neighboring countries (in our opinion, guest workers) live in them. These people leave their native lands and rush to Senegal, because here, on the extraction of salt, you can earn about ten dollars a day - the money, according to local concepts, is rather big, in their homeland - in Guinea, Mali, Gambia - they are talking about such a salary could not have dreamed. However, such happiness does not smile at them for too long, because no one can stand here for more than three years - salt water gradually corrodes the skin, and the person is covered with painful ulcers.

Photo 3.

So, in the early morning, guest workers head to their punts, untie them and go out to the lake expanses. Moving away from the coast, they drop anchor and lubricate the skin with the so-called Chinese vegetable oil, which is extracted from the fruits of the tallow tree. If this simple procedure is neglected, then the concentrated saline solution splashing over the side of the boat will corrode the skin almost to the bones in just half an hour.

Jumping over the side of the boat, the miners first with a special device, like a crowbar, loosen the salt that covers the bottom of the lake in a dense layer, and then fill the basket with it under water. The next step is to lift the basket and transfer its contents to the boat, after allowing the water to drain. The boat can hold up to 500 kilograms of salt. From the outside it seems surprising that a small boat with such a load does not sink. However, in order to flood a boat in the waters of the lake or drown yourself, you have to try very hard - a concentrated solution keeps both the loaded punt and the person afloat.
To earn the coveted ten dollars, the worker must deliver a boat filled with salt three times during the day. By the way, in order to load 500 kilograms of salt into the boat, an experienced worker needs at least three hours. Total: nine hours up to the shoulders in brine ...

Photo 4.

But then the miners bring heavy punts to the shore, and then their wives and daughters get down to business. The women's task is to shift the salt from the boat into basins, take it a little further from the water and pour it out there to dry. And a basin filled with salt, by the way, weighs at least 25 kilograms ...
After the salt dries, pebbles and rubbish are selected from it, and then poured into heaps that make the coast of Retba look like an alien landscape. In such heaps, salt can lie for several years until a wholesale buyer is found for it. During this time, which at first had a gray color, under the rays of the sun it becomes dazzling white.

Photo 5.

No citizen of Senegal will stoop to become a salt miner. This is hard and thankless work. Therefore, local residents buy it in bulk and resell it to other African or European countries. And they also play the role of guides with pleasure, bringing tourists to an amazing lake with pink, like jelly, water and white milky, that is, salt, shores.

Photo 6.

Lake Retba is located less than an hour's drive from the capital of Senegal (40 km), on the northwestern coast of the country of Grand Côte, in close proximity to the shores of the Atlantic. It is most convenient to arrive here as part of an organized tour - this is a popular attraction, and it will not be difficult to join the tour.

If you wish to arrive at the lake on your own, it makes sense to rent a car with a driver. The most unpretentious tourists can use the minibus service. And if you want to stay here for a few days, a considerable number of hotels in the Grand Côte resort area are at your service.

Photo 7.

Retba is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by just a strip of low dunes, and the underground saline waters of the Atlantic generously feed this body of water, from which there is no outflow of water. So for thousands of years, the concentration of salt has increased here - and today Lake Retba, in terms of salinity in the dry period from November to June, easily “does” the hyped Dead Sea: the salt content in the water reaches 40%. By the way, the length of the lake is about 2 km, and the depth is no more than 3 meters.

The fantastic pink hue of the water is the result of the vital activity of a special kind of cyanobacteria that feed on salt. These bacteria produce a pink pigment in order to "attract" a certain spectrum of solar radiation necessary for their life. Well, then the pink pigment saturates the water in the Retba and colors its surface with amazing shades.

Photo 8.

The concentration of salt in Retba is so high that you can’t lie here with a book in your hands on the immovable surface of the lake - the mineral very soon begins to corrode the skin. As for the salt miners, they rub their bodies with shea butter, which prevents the insidious mineral from coming into contact with the surface of the skin.

Photo 9.

And on the other side of the Retba, facing the Atlantic, stretches a ridge of low graceful dunes. In a word, the landscapes here are really fascinating: snow-white mountains of salt, bright pink water surface and golden sand of the Green Peninsula of Senegal.

Photo 10.

This lake is also often called Lac Rose (Lac Rose) .

Photo 11.

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Photo 13.

Rubbing their bodies with a special oil that protects against the damaging effects of incredibly salty water that corrodes the skin, salt miners spend the whole day on the lake. They dive to the bottom, blindly fill the baskets with salt, then unload it into the boat and take it to the shore. There, the catch is piled in heaps, allowed to dry, then washed and sorted, cleared of silt and sand. Burning out in the sun, the salt from the Pink Lake becomes snow-white, and this is what they bring for sale.

Photo 14.

But few tourists who come to admire the amazing lake with "bloody" water, decide to plunge into the colored depths of Lac Rose. They prefer to observe from the sidelines and take a lot of pictures.

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Now consider a more spectacular lake in appearance Hillier (Lake Hillier) in Australia.

Photo 1.

On the edge of Middle Island is a mysterious pink lake surrounded by legends. From above, the shiny surface of the pink Lake Hillier resembles icing on an oblong cake. This lake lends unexpected hues to a wooded corner of the Middle Island. The middle island is one of 100 small islands that make up the Exploration Archipelago, which stretches along the southern coast of Western Australia. The most mysterious natural attraction in Australia is Lake Hillier and its pink water.

Photo 2.

A shallow salt lake, only about 600 m wide. An even greater impression of an unearthly landscape is given to the lake by a white ribbon around it. The lake is surrounded on all sides by bright green eucalyptus trees, separated from the ocean only by a narrow strip of white sand dunes.

Until the middle of the 20th century, people in explaining this phenomenon were content with the assumption that special bacteria live in the water of the lake. In 1950, the pink color of the lake was studied by a group of scientists who hoped to find seaweed in the salt water of the lake - Red algae (Dunaliella salina). In very salty water, these algae secrete a red pigment that turns other Australian lakes pink, such as on the mainland, near Esperance, located lake. A water sample taken from Lake Hillier did not find any traces of algae, so the color of the lake is still a mystery.

Photo 3.

The first mention of a “pink” lake on Sredny Island dates back to 1802, when the British navigator and hydrographer Matthew Flinders stopped here on his way to Sydney, who became the discoverer of the pink lake.

Over the next few decades, the island was a kind of transit point for whalers, but at the beginning of the 20th century, the attention of visitors finally turned to the miracle of nature, albeit from a very materialistic point of view - they began to mine salt here. However, the business did not flourish for long. Even taking into account the use of special equipment instead of traditional manual labor, the profit was not enough to grow the business, and the strange color of the water did not particularly attract the consumer. Six years later, entrepreneurs curtailed the project, and since then Hiller has attracted only curious tourists and occasionally scientists.

Photo 4.

In general, Lake Hillier is not the only pink lake even in Australia, not to mention bodies of similar coloring in other parts of the world. There are pink lakes on almost all continents - here are Retba in Senegal, and Torrevieja in Spain, and the Canadian Dusty Lake, and Masazir in Azerbaijan, and Koyashskoye Lake in the Crimea, and many others. But of all of them, the Australian Lake Hillier is the only one whose mystery has not yet been solved. After all, usually pink color is given to water either by special algae, or by cyanobacteria, or by specific chemicals in the composition of the forming rocks. And what “paints” Lake Hiller in such a bright color? Scientists are not yet able to answer this question. The results of studies conducted in 1950 showed the complete absence of any flowery microorganisms - both at the bottom of the reservoir and in the composition of the water.

Swimming in this wonderful lake, of course, is possible - but it happens at your own risk. After all, there are no spa baths, which are so common, for example, on the Dead Sea, here.

Photo 5.

There was a local legend about a sailor who ended up on the island after a shipwreck. Exhausted and wounded, he offered the devil to sell his soul so that he would save him from this nightmare. At the same moment, a man appeared on the shore of the lake, who poured into him a jug of blood and a jug of milk. Then he said: "Swim, and you will not feel hunger and pain." He did so, but acquired such strange abilities that the pirates who saved him, in the end, got scared and threw him back into the sea.

Let me remind you that studies of the water of the lake by scientists have not yielded any results. They did not find any bacteria or minerals capable of coloring the water pink.

Salt dissolved in lake water can be used as food. Therefore, for some time there were salt mines. In addition to nutritional benefits, this salt also has medicinal properties, so there is still some truth in the legend of the sailor.

Photo 6.

Lake Hillier is only 600 meters wide. From all sides, the reservoir is surrounded by tall bright green eucalyptus trees, which contrast sharply with the pink water of the lake. The lake is located on the very edge of the island, and only a narrow strip of land, consisting mainly of sand dunes, separates it from the ocean. From a bird's eye view, the lake looks most impressive. The fact is that the shores of the lake are bordered by a thin layer of white salt, so from above it seems that the “pink spot” seems to be framed!
Thousands of tourists visit the island every year. They all want to see with their own eyes an unusual lake that looks so great against the backdrop of evergreen eucalyptus trees!

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sources

http://tainy.info/world-around/rozovoe-ozero-retba/

http://tonkosti.ru/%D0%9E%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B1%D0%B0

http://animalworld.com.ua/news/Neobychnoje-ozero-Retba-v-Senegale