Pink Lake - ruby of Senegal. Pink Lake Pink Lake

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 seawater. Thanks to their pink color, these lakes are becoming increasingly popular among tourists and photographers from all over the world.

This body of water is located on the edge of Middle Island, which is part of the Research archipelago, which stretches for tens of kilometers along south coast 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.

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

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

2. Retba, Senegal

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

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

There is a small salt mining business on the lake. Many salt workers work 6-7 hours a day in the lake, which contains about 40% salt. To protect their skin, they rub “Beurre de Karité” (Shea Butter, obtained from shea nuts collected from the shea tree) into it, which softens the skin and prevents tissue damage. What is called Lake Retba these days, when- that was a lagoon. But the Atlantic surf gradually washed in the sand and eventually the channel connecting the lagoon with the ocean was filled 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, the 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 tint thanks to microorganisms that can exist in a saturated salt solution.

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

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

3. Torrevieja Salt Lake (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" appearance. Just like in the Dead Sea in Israel, here you can also just lie on the surface of the water. In addition, this will be of great benefit for the prevention and treatment of skin and lung diseases.

At the other end of the lake, salt is mined and exported to different countries. You can see a huge number of bird species near the lake.

4. Hutt Lagoon, Australia

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

Hutt Lagoon is salt Lake, an elongated shape, located off the coast north of the Hutt River estuary, in the mid-west of Western Australia. It is located in the dunes adjacent to the coast.

Hutt Lagoon was once the mouth of the 60km (37 mi) Hutt River, but at some point in the prehistoric past, the river changed course and the estuary 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 and Kalbarri, called George Gray Drive, runs along the western edge of the lake.

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

This lagoon is home to the world's largest microalgae farm. total area The area of small artificial ponds in which Dunaliella salina is bred is 250 hectares.

The lake is 14 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide.

Hutt Lagoon is a salty pink lake, having a red or pink hue due to the presence of Dunaliella saline in the water. This type of algae produces carotenoids, which are a source of beta carotene, a food coloring and a source of vitamin A.

5. Lake Masazirgol, Azerbaijan

Lake Masazir 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 volumes of chloride and sulfate.

Workers load salt into horse-drawn carts

In 2010, a plant was opened here to produce two MFAs of Azeri salt. The estimated reserve of salt that can be extracted is 1,735 million tons. It can be extracted both in a liquid state (from water) and in a solid state.

Due to the increased sulfate content, the water in the lake is pink

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 is still pink in color. The photo shows pink water flowing into the lake. The color of the water is due to the unique combination of rocks in this area (rock dust from the glacier).

Pink Lake Quirading is located 11 kilometers east of Quirading (Western Australia). The Bruce Rock Highway passes through it.

The local population considers Pink Lake natural miracle. At certain times, one side of the lake turns dark pink while the other remains pale pink.

Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. It is located approximately 3 kilometers west of Esperance and is connected to the east by motorway south coast(South Coast Highway).

The lake is not always pink, but the distinctive color of the water, when the lake takes on a pink tint, is the result of the activity of the green algae Dunaliella salina, as well as a high concentration of saltwater shrimp. The lake has been designated as Important Bird Habitat by the international organization for the protection of birds and their habitat conservation.

And another miracle of nature: Field of Pink Lakes, Australia

This unusual landscape was captured from an airplane in western Australia. This field of pink lakes is located somewhere between Esperance and Caiguna.

There are hundreds of small pink lakes throughout the course, each with 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.

15.04.2013

Be sure to check out the Pink Lake, also known as Retba. The color of the water in it resembles either potassium permanganate or a strawberry cocktail. This is incredible nature education different natural water.

It is not surprising that the lake is considered one of the main ones. What is its secret?

The mystery of rose water

The water of Lake Retba is very salty. For most microorganisms, the salt level is lethal, and only one species can survive in it. It is these creatures that give the water its beautiful color. The intensity of the shade can vary from delicate pinkish to dark brown, everything is determined by the angle of incidence of the sun's rays and weather conditions. For example, during the dry season, the Pink Lake in Senegal becomes incredibly bright, attracting especially large numbers of tourists. The magical shade of the water, combined with the many boats gliding along the surface of the lake, creates a completely surreal picture.

Where is it located?

You can look at Pink Lake off the Atlantic coast. It is located near Dakar, the capital of the country.

Just thirty kilometers from the city, and you are there. It’s also not far from the westernmost point of the peninsula - twenty kilometers to the Cape Verde Peninsula. The area of the amazing reservoir is small (three square kilometers), and its deepest place is three meters. There is a village on the shore, whose workers and traders are fed by the Pink Lake. Photos of this place often illustrate the work of local residents. They stand up to their necks in water and manually scoop salt from the bottom. This is very hard work, but it pays well. Therefore, flat boats cover the entire coastline every day.

Retba's story

There was once a lagoon here, connected to Atlantic Ocean. The surf brought sand from year to year, and the channel was gradually filled with it. In the 70s, a drought hit these places, after which the Retba became shallow, making salt production quite accessible.

The water is gradually returning, and workers are standing in it up to their shoulders, but just twenty years ago the level here was at most waist-deep. The depth of the lake is also increasing because people are extracting about twenty-five thousand tons of salt, gradually scooping up the bottom. Apart from microorganisms called dunaliella, which give the water a special hue with its pigment, no other organisms, fish or plants live here. The Pink Lake is even more deadly for all living things than the famous Dead Sea - there is one and a half times more salt here. It is impossible to drown here: dense water holds objects on the surface. Even boats heavily laden with loot do not sink. A boat can be filled in three hours of hard work, and each worker must repeat this operation three times a day. To prevent salt of such concentration from corroding the skin, workers rub themselves with special oil from the fruits of the tallow tree. Otherwise, painful ulcers will appear on the skin within half an hour. So it’s better to watch the lake from the outside.

African nature is sometimes extremely amazing, which is why more and more tourists are trying 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 its unusual and amazing color, which is actually pink with a hint of milk. That's the name of the lake local residents, related to the Wolof people.

Its area is small - 3 square kilometers, with a maximum depth of only 3 meters in some places.

Pink lake Retba in Senegal

Once upon a time, on the site of Pink Lake there was a lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean, but the waters constantly washed up the 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 Pink Lake Retba became shallow over time, while the concentration of salts in the water increased.

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

increased salinity;
microorganisms.

The salt in the 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 stays perfectly on the surface; it is almost impossible to drown in Pink Lake Retba; relaxation on the water is truly relaxing and relaxing.

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

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

Times of Day;
cloudiness;
wind.

It is during windy weather that microorganisms are most active, and then they produce the largest amount of pink enzyme. In general, the color palette can range from light pink to rich brown.

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

If a couple of decades ago salt miners worked standing in water only up to their waists, now the main depth is up to their necks. This 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 Pink Lake, in its very center they plunge into the water with all the equipment. Since the salt has accumulated at the bottom, it is beaten off with hooks, taken out of the liquid with shovels and placed in the boat. All this is done by touch, because the head is always above the surface.

This type of fishing is dangerous because salty water corrodes the skin, forming wounds that take a long time to heal. The only way to protect yourself from this is with fat, so miners cover themselves with shea butter before diving.

Men's work consists of directly extracting salt from the lake, everything else is done by women, who become involved in the process from unloading the filled boat.

Salt is transported from the reservoir on the head; for this, about 25 kilograms of 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 first mined;
whiter when exposed to sunlight.

The salt remains lying on the shore in heaps until wholesale buyers come for it, until this moment a year can pass. more. This product is exported mainly to the countries of the Dark Continent, sometimes it is 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.

The workers who mine the salt live right on the shore of the lake, and there is a small village for them, in which frail dwellings are built from 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 pond, there are several hotels here. To make your vacation memorable, it is recommended:

take a boat ride on the pink surface of the water;
go on a jeep tour around the lake;
buy a few souvenirs sold locally.

A pink or red 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 seawater. Thanks to their pink color, these lakes are becoming increasingly popular among tourists and photographers from all over the world.

Lake Hillier (Hillier), Australia

Coordinates: 34°05′45″ S w. 123°12′10″ E. d.

Lake Hillier is a lake located on Middle Island - the large island of all the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia. The lake is very popular and tourists strive to get there, even passengers on planes flying over the lake take photographs of this miracle of nature.

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.

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. Middle Island and the lake were discovered in 1812.

Hutt Lagoon, Australia

Coordinates: 28° 9"17.29"S. w. 114°14"23.99"E. d.

Hutt Lagoon is shown on the left and the Indian Ocean is on the right

Hutt Lagoon is an elongated salt lake located off the coast north of the Hutt River Estuary in the mid-west of Western Australia. It is located in the dunes adjacent to the coast.

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

The lake is 14 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide.

This lagoon is home to the world's largest microalgae farm. The total area of small artificial ponds in which Dunaliella salina is bred is 250 hectares.

Lake Quairading, Australia

Coordinates: 31°58"22.37" S. w. 117°30"18.92" in. d.

Pink Lake Quairading is located 11 kilometers east of Quairading (Western Australia). The Bruce Rock Highway passes through it.

The local population considers Pink Lake a natural wonder. At certain times, one side of the lake turns dark pink while the other remains pale pink.

Field of Pink Lakes, Australia

Coordinates: 33°51"1.01"S w. 123°35"34.06" in. d.

This unusual landscape was captured from an airplane in western Australia. This field of pink lakes is located somewhere between Esperance and Caiguna.

Pink Lake, Australia

Coordinates: 33°50"43"S 121°49"40"E

Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of western Australia. It is located approximately 3 kilometers west of Esperance and is connected to the east by the South Coast Highway.

Lake Masazir, Azerbaijan

Coordinates: 40°30"29"N 49°46"21"E

Workers load salt into horse-drawn carts

Laguna Colorada, Bolivia

Coordinates: 22°11′55″ S w. 67°46′52″ W. d.

Laguna Colorado - mineral lake, located in national reserve Eduardo Avaroa in southwestern Bolivia near the border with Chile.

The red-brown color of the water is due to sedimentary rocks, as well as the pigmentation of some algae growing there. Borax islands can also be found in the lake.

The lagoon area is home to a large number of James's flamingos. You can also find Andean and Chilean flamingos here, but in small quantities.

Lake Torrevieja, Spain

Coordinates: 38° 0"14.32" N. w. 0°44"10.74"w. d.

Aerial view of the Torrevieja Salt Lake from the Mediterranean Sea

The pink color of Lake Torrevieja, caused by the presence of algae and salt, gives it a "science fiction" appearance. Just like in the Dead Sea in Israel, here you can also just lie on the surface of the water. In addition, this will be of great benefit for the prevention and treatment of skin and lung diseases.

At the other end of the lake, salt is mined and exported to different countries. You can see a huge number of bird species near the lake.

Pond in an old mine, Cyprus, Italy

Coordinates: 35° 2"10.01"N 33° 6"57.53"E

Not far from the Cypriot village of Mitsero there is a lake, the water of which is painted blood red. At first glance, it seems that instead of water there is actually blood in it.

In fact, the lake is not a lake at all, but a mined-out iron ore quarry. It is the rich presence of iron that explains the rich red color of the water.

Dusty Rose Lake, Canada

Coordinates: 52°33"38"N 126 ° 20"31" W

Raspberry Lake, Altai region, Russia

Coordinates: 51°40′31″ N. w. 79°46′57″ E. d.

Raspberry Lake in the Mikhailovsky district is distinguished by its crimson-colored water.

The distinct pink-crimson hue of the water gives it a special appearance to the small planktonic crustaceans living in the lake.

The crimson color of the lake is especially bright in spring, although it is noticeable in other seasons as well.

Lake Retba, Senegal

Coordinates: 14°50′20″ N. w. 17°14′04″ W d.

Lake Retba or Pink Lake is located east of the Cape Verde Peninsula (Cap Vert) in Senegal, northeast of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. It got its name because of the color of the water in which the algae species Dunaliella salina grows.

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

Aerial photography of salt accumulations along the shoreline of Lake Retba

There is a small salt mining business on the lake. Many salt workers work 6-7 hours a day in the lake, which contains about 40% salt.

To protect their skin, they rub in Beurre de Karité (Shea Butter, derived from shea nuts harvested from the shea tree), which softens the skin and prevents tissue damage.

Colored salt ponds in San Francisco, USA

Coordinates: 37°30"23.56"N 122° 1"40.79"W

San Francisco is famous for its colored ponds, a flight over which delivers indelible impression from what he saw.

The reason for such beauty is banal - simple salt. These reservoirs were created for salt extraction.

The algae growing in them is what causes these color effects. The palette of colors depends on the height of the salt level; more saturated shades are obtained at higher salt levels.

Besides weather are also able to make adjustments to the variety of colors. For example, the wind stirring the algae changes the color scheme; rain, coupled with the wind, sometimes generally lightens the water to its normal state

Lake Natron, Tanzania

Coordinates: 2°25′ S w. 36°00′ E. d.

Natron is a salt lake located in northern Tanzania, on the border with Kenya.

The lake is no more than three meters deep, and the shoreline changes depending on the time of year and water level. Water temperatures in wetlands can reach 50 degrees Celsius, and depending on the water level, alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5.

Lake Natron is covered with a crust of salt, which periodically turns red and pink. This is the result of the vital activity of microorganisms that live in the lake. The lake is home to millions of flamingos.

Lake Chott El Jerid, Tunisia

Coordinates: 33°42′ N. w. 8°26′ E. d.

Chott el Djerid is a lake in central Tunisia and a saline depression located in a series of depressions stretching deep into the Sahara from the Gulf of Gabes.

During winter rains, Chott el-Jerid turns into a salty, drainless lake with an area of 5-7 thousand km². In summer, when there is no precipitation and the temperature often reaches +50 °C, the lake almost completely dries out, and mirages are often observed.

The vegetation is sparse, with a predominance of halophytes; near the waterways there are thickets of tamarisk and gorse. Along the edges of the depression there are outlets of artesian waters, around which there are oases in which the date palm has been cultivated since ancient times.

In the 1970s, an asphalt road was built across the depression along the crest of the constructed dam.

Lake Koyashskoe, Crimea, Ukraine

Coordinates: 45°2"54"N 36°11"4"E

Lake Koyashskoye changes its color several times a year. This is due to bacteria, which turn reddish in color during hot periods.

During the dry season, the lake is covered with a thin layer of salt crystals. The silt deposits of the lake are therapeutic mud.

It is impossible to drown in Lake Koyashskoye, since its depth does not exceed 1 meter. But you won’t be able to swim there either - the mud is very viscous.

Lake on the Sanetsch pass in Switzerland

The water surface is periodically covered with algae, which gives the water an atypical color.

Blood Pond (Chinoike Jigoku), Japan

Coordinates: 33°19"37.93"N 131°28"40.75"E

Blood Pond (Chinoike Jigoku) is one of the most famous sources of hot water - geysers, which is located on Japanese island Kyushu near the city of Beppu.

It got its name due to the fact that its water contains a large amount of iron oxide.

The color of the pond has a red tint, which very much reminds tourists of blood, and this is why the hot water geyser was nicknamed “bloody”. Geysers emit more than 50,000 cubic meters of water per day, and above the lake you can observe emissions of steam from active volcanoes, which are located on the banks of the bloody pond.

There are many legends associated with the bloody pond, and its name means “Hell” in Japanese. One of these legends says that sinners were boiled in its waters. This is partly true - you can easily cook here, because the water temperature is about 100 degrees.

Pink Lake of Senegal (also known as Lake Retba) is not a very famous landmark in Africa, but is still quite extraordinary.

The local population of the Wolof ethnic group prefers to call it Retba Lakes. But we know it as Pink Lake. Again, as in the case of the Blue Grotto, the lake owes its name to its unnatural color for a reservoir.

And here there is something to be surprised at: the color of the water varies from pink to blood red. This phenomenon is associated with the presence in water a huge amount halophilic archaea of the genus Halobacterium. Translated into understandable language, there are a lot of specific bacteria in the water, which paint the lake such incredible colors. Particularly bright colors are characteristic of the lake during the dry season.

Pink Lake on the map

geographic coordinates 14.838150, -17.234862
distance from the capital of Senegal, Dakar, about 25 km
the distance to the nearest airport of the same Dakar is approximately 30 km

The history of the Pink Lake is quite earthly and sacrifices with copious amounts of blood were not carried out here. Initially, it was an ordinary lagoon, connected to the ocean by a small channel. But, over time, the ocean surf covered the channel with sand and thereby blocked the communication of the lagoon with the “big water”.

And that is not all. The lake would have remained ordinary and inconspicuous if one day, during a severe drought, they had not become very shallow. Then local residents began to extract salt from it, and in the simplest way, almost like in the Uyuni salt marsh, collecting it from the bottom of the lake. Over time, bacteria began to develop, turning Lake Retba into abnormal colors. As a result, we have another attraction.

Lake Retba in numbers

Surface area about 3 km2
Maximum depth up to 3 meters

It is noteworthy that local residents who extract salt spend 6-7 hours in the water. This is an insanely high amount for such a saturated brine solution. But a special karite product made from shea butter helps workers protect their skin from burns. By rubbing it into the skin, people are able to stay in water for a long time.

The workers live right next to the lake in unpresentable shacks. There is not much entertainment here. Perhaps boat rides, short swimming and jeep rides along the local surroundings. You can buy souvenirs that are sold by local residents, usually carrying them in baskets on their heads.

The lake has been for a long time final destination the famous Paris-Dakar rally
The salt content in the waters of Pink Lake reaches 40%
You cannot stay in water for more than 10 minutes, as this can cause chemical burns.
There are no living creatures (no fish, no algae), except for the above-mentioned bacteria, in the lake (try to survive in a reservoir where there is almost 400 grams of salt per liter of water)
The salt content in Lake Retba exceeds that of the famous Dead Sea in Israel
It is almost impossible to drown in the lake, since the density of its water is very high and, accordingly, the buoyant force prevents you from sinking to the bottom
salt has been mined here since the 70s of the last century

It might be useful to read:

Pink Lake - ruby ​​of Senegal. Pink Lake Pink Lake