Pink sea. Pink lake retba. Opuk Nature Reserve

There are many attractions in Crimea. The most famous of them are: the Grand Canyon, Mount Ai-Petri and bird home. However, there are other very interesting, but, unfortunately, little-known places on this peninsula. The category of such attractions includes Pink Lake. In Crimea it is the saltiest.

Where is it located?

This interesting tourist attraction is located on the territory of Cape Opuk, approximately 30 km from Kerch. Once upon a time there was a military training ground in this place. But not so long ago Opuksky was created here nature reserve. The area of ​​this reserve is not too large. But at the same time, simply living on its territory great amount various kinds of rare birds. Opuk was removed 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 outcrops standing in the sea, called “Ship Rocks” for their unusual shape.

The Pink Lake itself in Crimea is located on Opuk in close proximity to the Black Sea. This body of water is separated from it only by a not too wide sandy embankment.

A little history

Story ( bcnjhbz) near the Pink Lake in Crimea is quite interesting. It belongs to the group of volcanic ones. That is, it was formed a very, very long time ago. 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-lintel was formed.

Short description

So, we found out where Pink Lake is in Crimea. It is located near Kerch. Its official name is Koyashskoye. This unusual body of water is quite large in size. total area it is about 5 hectares. The lake reaches 4 km in length and 2 km in width. You will not be able to swim in this reservoir. Its depth in spring reaches only 1 meter. By autumn, the lake dries up completely. This reservoir is actually very salty. Therefore, practically no living creatures are found in it. The salt concentration 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 supplied for the treatment of vacationers to local sanatoriums. You won't be able to swim in this lake. However, you can smear yourself with mud on the shore. There is enough water to wash them off.

Why pink?

The main feature of this reservoir that attracts tourists to it is, of course, not its shallow depth or high salt content. Of course, it was not for nothing that the lake was called pink. The water in it really has this color. This body of water looks especially beautiful at sunset. In fact, the name Koyashskoe itself translates as “the lake in which the sun hides.”

In 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 algae breeding in the lake Dunaliella Salina.The beta-carotene it produces gives the water a delicate, juicy pink hue.

When is the best time to go?

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

In order toappreciate beautyhimselfPink lake in Crimea, it’s worth coming here in mid-late summer. It is during this period that algae develop most actively, and the water acquires a truly beautiful shade.

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

Later, in the fall, due to rains, the lake begins to fill with water again. The layer of it in its bowl at this time of year is not too large - about 2 cm. But because of it, the lake looks like a huge clear mirror. Tourists walking along the pond at this time of year feel like they are floating in the air due to the reflecting clouds.

How to get to Pink Lake in Crimea?

Get to this unusual natural object on the peninsula you can follow the Feodosia - Kerch highway. At the sign "Marfovo-Marevka",not reaching about 20 km to the city,you need to turn towards the Black Sea. The road ahead will not be very good. You should be prepared for this. Having reached the village of Maryevka, you need to turn straight towards the coast onto a country road. It may not be possible to drive through it in a regular car, as it is heavily rutted. Some part of the journey will most likely have to be covered on foot. But get to the cape by jeepThe dough will turn out without any problems.

Opuk Nature Reserve

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

Other Pink Lakes of Crimea

Koyashskoye actually looks very beautiful. However, in Crimea there are also other salt lakes of the same pleasant color. In this case, the effect is caused by the same algae. Lakes such as Krasnoi and Staroye, for example, have a pink tint on the peninsula.

Both bodies of water are located on the territoryKrasnoperekopsk City Councilin the west of the peninsula. These lakes also look very impressive.

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 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.

Retba's story

There was once a lagoon here, connected to the 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.

If you try to search the Internet for information or, especially, photographs about Lake Retba in Senegal, and then 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 overlaps. That is, they write about one lake and photographs of another and vice versa. There you are one example. This is not surprising, since both of these lakes are PINK.

Let's try to sort the information and photos by these lakes so as not to confuse them in the future.

Let's start with a lake in Senegal.

Lake Retba

In the language of the Wolof people, Senegal's main ethnic group, the lake is called Retba. A water mirror with an area of ​​three square kilometers is located near the Cape Verde Peninsula. And this body of water looks like in a fairy tale about a milk river with jelly banks, only here everything is the opposite: the water is pink, like cranberry jelly, but the banks 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, ocean waves washed 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 it’s not just their advanced age that inspires admiration. 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 standards, of course.

Photo 2.

There are flat-bottomed boats along the entire coastline. This picture is reminiscent of the streets of our cities with cars parked on the sidewalk, but each owner of a boat here has a historically assigned place for him, which no one dares to occupy. Boats here are not a luxury and, in general, not even a means of transportation. They are necessary to extract salt. Every year, through joint efforts, people lift 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 dry land,” are practically impossible.
Every morning here begins with local men leaving their houses and, stretching, heading towards the lake.

However, calling these buildings houses is only a stretch. And it’s hardly worth calling them shacks either. These are peculiar huts built from improvised materials - reed stalks, car tires, plastic bags... And visitors from neighboring countries(in our opinion, guest workers). These people leave their native lands and flock to Senegal, because here, on salt mining, you can earn about ten dollars a day - the money, according to local standards, is quite big, in their homeland - in Guinea, Mali, Gambia - they are talking about such a salary couldn't have dreamed of it. However, such happiness does not smile on them for too long, because no one can stand it here for more than three years - the salt water gradually corrodes the skin, and the person becomes covered with painful ulcers.

Photo 3.

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

Jumping over the side of the boat, the miners first use a special device, like a crowbar, to loosen the salt, which 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 cargo does not sink. However, in order to sink a boat in the waters of the lake or drown yourself, you have to try very hard - the concentrated solution keeps both the loaded punt and the person afloat.
To earn the coveted ten dollars, a worker must deliver a boat filled with salt to the shore three times during the day. By the way, in order to load 500 kilograms of salt into a boat, it takes an experienced worker at least three hours. Total: nine hours up to your shoulders in brine...

Photo 4.

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

Photo 5.

No Senegalese citizen will stoop to become a salt miner. It's hard and thankless work. Therefore, local residents buy it in bulk and resell it to other African or European countries. They also happily play the role of guides, bringing tourists to an amazing lake with pink, jelly-like water and white milky, that is, salty, shores.

Photo 6.

Lake Retba is located less than an hour's drive from the capital of Senegal (40 km), on northwest coast country of Grand Côte, in close proximity to the shores of the Atlantic. It is most convenient to arrive here within organized excursion is a popular attraction and joining a tour is easy.

If you want 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, there are a considerable number of hotels at your service resort area Grand Cote.

Photo 7.

Retba is separated from Atlantic Ocean just a strip of low dunes, and underground salt waters The Atlantic generously feeds this reservoir, from which there is no outflow of water. So, over the course of thousands of years, the salt concentration here increased - and today Lake Retba, in terms of salinity during the dry period from November to June, easily “matches” the popular 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 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 cannot lie here with a book in your hands on the motionless 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 truly mesmerizing: snow-white salt mountains, bright pink water surface and golden sand of the Green Peninsula of Senegal.

Photo 10.

This lake is also often called Lac Rose .

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Rubbing their bodies with a special oil that protects them from the harmful 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 baskets with salt, then unload it into a boat and take it to the shore. There, the catch is dumped into heaps, allowed to dry, then washed and sorted, removing silt and sand. Burning out in the sun, the salt from the Pink Lake becomes snow-white, and this is what is brought for sale.

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But few tourists come to admire amazing lake with “bloody” water, they decide to plunge into the colored depths of Lac Rose. They prefer to observe from the side and take a lot of photographs.

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Now let's look at a lake that is more spectacular in appearance Lake Hillier in Australia.

Photo 1.

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

Photo 2.

A shallow salt lake, approximately only 600 m wide. The white ribbon around it gives the lake an even greater impression of an unearthly landscape. 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 were content to explain this phenomenon with the assumption that special bacteria lived in the lake water. In 1950, the pink color of the lake was studied by a group of scientists who hoped to find seaweed - Red algae (Dunaliella salina) - in the salt water of the lake. In very salty water, these algae produce a red pigment that turns other Australian lakes pink, such as the one on the mainland near Esperance. 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 the “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 develop the business, and the strange color of the water did not particularly attract the consumer. Six years later, the entrepreneurs abandoned the project, and since then Hiller has attracted only curious tourists and, occasionally, scientists.

Photo 4.

In general, Lake Hiller is not the only pink lake even in Australia, not to mention bodies of similar colors in other parts of the world. Almost all continents have their own pink lakes - here is Retba in Senegal, Torrevieja in Spain, Canadian Dusty Lake, Masazir in Azerbaijan, Koyash Lake in 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, the pink color of water is usually given either by special algae, or cyanobacteria, or specific chemical substances in the composition of the forming rocks. And what “paints” Lake Hillier such a bright color? Scientists cannot yet answer this question. The results of studies conducted in 1950 showed the complete absence of any colorful microorganisms, both at the bottom of the reservoir and in the water.

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

Photo 5.

There was a local legend about a sailor who found himself on the island after a shipwreck. Exhausted and wounded, he offered to sell his soul to the devil so that he could save him from this nightmare. At that same moment a man appeared on the shore of the lake and poured a jug of blood and a jug of milk into him. After which he said: “Take a bath, and you will not feel hunger or pain.” He did so, but acquired such strange abilities that the pirates who saved him eventually got scared and threw him back into the sea.

Let me remind you that scientists' studies of the lake water did not produce any results. They did not find any bacteria or minerals that could turn the water pink.

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

Photo 6.

Lake Hillier is only 600 meters wide. The reservoir is surrounded on all sides by tall, bright green eucalyptus trees, which contrast sharply with the pink water of the lake. The lake is located at 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 come to the island every year. They all want to see with their own eyes unusual lake, which 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

Lake Retba or Las Rose in Senegal is rightfully considered one of the most beautiful lakes potassium permanganate color. Located northeast of Dakar, the capital of Sinegal. The lake got its name in honor of special algae. The pink color is especially noticeable during the dry season. In addition, Lake Retba is known for its high salt content, which, like the Dead Sea, easily allows it to float on its surface. The main source of income for local residents is salt mining on Lake Retba. Workers forced to spend 6-7 hours in water containing about 40% salt rub shea butter into their skin to prevent tissue damage.


Pink Lake Hillier in Australia

On the edge of the Middle Island - the largest island of the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia, a fabulous pink lake surrounded by secrets and legends is located. The magical pond was discovered in 1812. A special feature of Lake Hiller is its unusual, permanent bright pink color. In the 50s of the twentieth century, scientists tried to discover Red algae, which turns lakes pink. The attempt was unsuccessful, so the color still remains a mystery. The length of the lake is only 600 meters. A narrow strip of white sand, small deposits of white salt and dense eucalyptus forests separate the lake from the ocean.

Salt lake Torrevieja in Spain

Rich pink salt lakes - Torrevieja and La Mata - surround a seaside town in southern Spain. According to the World Health Organization, the area of ​​these lakes is the most favorable for the life and health of the population and tourists. Swimming in lakes whose density is not inferior to Dead Sea, brings great benefits for the prevention and treatment of skin and pulmonary diseases. Salt is also mined for export on the lakes.

Dusty Rose Lake in Canada

A unique pale pink lake is located in British Columbia, Canada. The lake is little known and quite mysterious. The water in the lake is not salty at all, does not contain red algae, but is pink. The color of the water is explained by the amazing combination of rock dust from the glacier. Thousands of tourists have chosen this magical place for their travels.

Pink lake in Crimea

It's not just the Wild West that has pink lakes. In Crimea, it turns out, there is also a similar unique reservoir. Lake Koyashskoe near Cape Opuk in the Kerch steppe takes on a rich shade of rose several times a year. According to scientists, this is due to bacteria that acquire a reddish tint in the heat, the crustacean Artemia, as well as dunaliella (a single-celled algae). During the hot season, stones and plants here are covered with a salt film. The area of ​​the lake is 500 hectares, and the depth does not exceed a meter. Koyash Lake is the saltiest in Crimea. In addition, the reservoir is famous for its healing properties.

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. In 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 side, and Indian Ocean- on the right

Hutt Lagoon is salt Lake, an elongated shape, located near 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.

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.

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 natural miracle. 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.

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.

Pink Lake, Australia

Coordinates: 33°50"43"S 121°49"40"E

Pink Lake is a saltwater 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.

Lake Masazir, Azerbaijan

Coordinates: 40°30"29"N 49°46"21"E

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.

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 numbers.

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

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.

The pink color of Lake Torrevieja, caused by 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

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).

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 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 of the 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, endorheic 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 get cooked here, because the water temperature is about 100 degrees.

 

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