Pink lake in Africa. Pink Lake Retba in Senegal (West Africa): photo, video

African nature is sometimes extremely amazing, which is why more and more tourists are trying to get to this continent.

Another miracle is 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, while maximum depth 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, it appeared salt lake with quite a decent depth.

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 greatest number 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 necessary 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 salt 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 with their own hands from available materials. Usually residents of not only but also other people work here African countries 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.

It would seem, what else can surprise a continent in which almost everything is unusual? But Lake Hillier, with its bright pink water, is an unsolved wonder of stunning Australian nature.

It is located in the Recherche archipelago, on its Middle (Middle), near south coast Australia. Lake Hiller is salty and shallow, and the water in it has a juicy density. When you fly low enough on an airplane, a stunning view opens up, worthy of the brush of a surrealist artist: in the middle of the island lies a bright pink oval with smooth edges, framed by a white “frame” of sea salt and dark green eucalyptus forest. The pink surface of Lake Hillier is often compared to a giant bubble gum or glittery cake frosting.

History of a miracle

Pink Lake in Australia was first mentioned in 1802 in the notes of Matthew Flinders. This famous British hydrographer and navigator stopped at Middle Island during his trip to Sydney.

Then whalers and hunters who lived off the southern coast of the mainland in the 30-40s of the 19th century told stories about this lake.

At the beginning of the last century, they decided to mine salt here, but after six years the activity was stopped. And in the 50s, the first scientific studies of amazing color were carried out.

Now Lake Hillier, Australia, is visited by numerous tourists who want to see for themselves that it really is as pink as in the photographs.

Interesting fact

Water appears bright pink in any quantity, even in a small vessel, regardless of the viewing angle.

Think of it like a sunset, with the soft pink Australian sky setting the orange sun slowly down into the clear pink water!

Some information

The dimensions of the reservoir are quite small - about 600 meters long and 200 meters wide. The amazing pink water is separated from the ocean by a strip of sand covered with a dense eucalyptus forest. A white ring of sea salt has naturally appeared around the lake, adding extra contrast. It is quite difficult to approach the lake due to the dense ring that surrounds the lake. But, nevertheless, you can walk here and even swim in the salty pink water!

Why is it pink?

Scientists believed that Lake Hillier owes its rich pink color to a special Dunaliella salina, which produces a bright red pigment in very salty water. Similar algae have been found in other pink lakes around the world.

Samples from Lake Hillier were carefully studied, but no traces of the supposed algae were found. The studies were carried out by different scientists and at different times, so there is no doubt about the reliability of the result. The color of the water remains a mystery for now.

Australia loves to amaze the imagination with such things, so pink Lake Hiller has taken its rightful place among living wonders local nature, along with the bright red Shark Harbor, the pinnacle desert of The Pinnacles in national park Numbung, the striped Bungle Bungle Mountains, Kangaroo Island, the Simpsons Desert and the Great Barrier Reef.

Why is the water pink?

This question comes to mind first; it is asked by almost every traveler who has visited this place. anomalous place. But the answer has not yet been found. Unlike other colored lakes in the world, such as Retba in Senegal and the saltwater bodies of San Francisco Bay, the origin of Lake Hillier's pink color has not been definitively proven.

At first it was thought that the color was the result of paint created by Dunaliella and Halobacteria organisms living in salty bodies of water. Another hypothesis says that the pink color is due to red halophilic bacteria. It was assumed that the reason for the pink color of the water was a combination of a certain salinity of the water and specific microorganisms. But tests conducted in 1950 did not confirm these assumptions. In subsequent years, a number of studies were also carried out, but the mystery of Lake Hillier remained unsolved, seriously exciting the minds of scientists.

Lake location

Lake Hillier is located at the very edge of the Middle Island, separated from the ocean only by a small strip of eucalyptus trees surrounding the reservoir on all sides. The evergreen trees provide a wonderful contrast to the landscape, looking particularly vibrant against the pink lake backdrop.

As for the size of the lake, it cannot be said that it is large. Its width is about 600 meters. Thanks to its oval shape, the lake is often compared to a fairy-tale cake with delicious pink icing.

History of Pink Lake

The first mention of Lake Hiller dates back to 1802. British navigator and hydrographer Matthew Flinders stopped on Sredny Island and noticed unusual lake on the way to Sydney.

In the years 1820-1840, seal hunters and whalers stopped on the island, and at the beginning of the 20th century, salt began to be extracted from rose water. But the resource quickly dried up, and after 6 years salt production was stopped. Since then, the lake has not been used for industrial purposes.

The Legend of Lake Hiller

This one has mysterious place has its own, very beautiful legend, explaining the pink color of the water. It is known to few sailors and rare travelers.

In the 17th century, in the waters surrounding the island, the ship was caught in a strong storm and sank. The only surviving sailor was thrown onto uninhabited lands. The fight against the elements greatly injured him. Due to broken limbs, every movement brought pain to the sailor, and getting food became torture. A few weeks later, maddened by pain, loneliness and hopelessness, he exclaimed: “I will sell my soul to the devil if this nightmare stops!” Then a man came out from the shadow of a nearby tree with two jugs in his hands: one contained blood, and the other milk. He slowly walked to the small internal lake of the island and said: “Blood will help you forget what pain is. Milk will relieve you of hunger. All you have to do is plunge into these waters.” After this, the stranger poured the contents of the jugs into the lake, causing it to change color. The sailor, who thought he was crazy, slowly walked into the suspicious pink water and dived, and when he emerged, the strange stranger was nowhere to be found. To the traveler’s surprise, there was no trace left of the fractures and the feeling of hunger. Later, pirates landed on this island and took the poor sailor prisoner. Subsequently, the filibusters were alerted by the fact that the prisoner did not feel pain and did not need food. Considering this a bad sign, the superstitious pirates threw the sailor overboard, not believing in his mystical story healing. By the way, what original title Lake “Hiller” is absolutely consonant in pronunciation English word“Healer”, which translates as “Healer”.

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

1. Lake Hillier, Australia

This body of water is located on the edge of Middle Island, which is part of the Exploration Archipelago, which stretches 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.

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 was the traveler when among dense forests 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 Dunaliella salina algae 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) into it, which softens the skin and prevents tissue damage. What is now called Lake Retba was once 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

Salt Lake Torrevieja 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 World Organization healthcare.

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 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.

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.

In 2010, a plant for the production of two types of Azeri salt was opened here. 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 high sulfate content, the water in the lake is pink.

6. Dusty Rose Lake, Canada

This pink lake is located in British Columbia, Canada, is quite unusual, little known and perhaps 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).

7. Pink Lake Quairading, Australia

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.

8. Pink Lake, Australia

Pink Lake is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region, 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 Bird Protection and Habitat Conservation Organization.

9. 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.

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

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

There is an entire village located on the shore of the lake, and local residents spend their days 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 subsequently caused the disappearance of the channel connecting the lagoon with 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.

Nowadays people extract salt from the lake, standing shoulder-deep in the water, but about 20 years ago there was so little of it that it was possible to walk. By extracting huge amounts of salt from the bottom of the Pink Lake, people very quickly make it deeper. In some places the bottom level dropped by three or more meters.

Video: AROUND THE WORLD: Pink Lake Retba