Whether the pink sea. Pink Lake Hillier. Pink lake Retba in Senegal

There is a lake in Senegal that is bright pink. It was as if potassium permanganate had been poured into it. The water here is so salty that only one type of microorganism can survive in it - they give this color. For days on end, standing up to their necks in water, local residents scoop salt from the bottom of the lake and pour it into boats. The work is hard labor, but by African standards it is paid tolerably.

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1. Amazingly colored water and boats, boats... They completely cover a 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.

3. What is now called Lake Retba was once a lagoon. But the Atlantic surf gradually washed up 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.

4. Now people are working, standing shoulder-deep in water; twenty years ago they didn’t swim on the Pink Lake, but walked - the water in it was waist-deep. But by extracting about twenty-five thousand tons of salt a year, people are rapidly deepening the lake. In some places its bottom dropped quite significantly - by three meters or more.

5. The water in the lake acquired a pink tint thanks to microorganisms that can exist in a saturated salt solution. 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...

6. Microbiologist Bernard Oliver decided to scientifically explain the reason for this unusual color of water. The lake is inhabited by the microorganism Dunaliella salina, which, when absorbing sunlight, releases pigment

7. Due to the deepening of the bottom, it will soon be impossible to extract salt in the old old-fashioned way, and the Senegalese authorities will be faced with the problem of employing the army of miners and traders feeding around the lake. But for now, every morning, dozens of half-naked men, taking simple equipment, swim out to the middle of the lake, lay up the boat and climb into the incredible salt water…

8. A saline solution of such a concentration can, in just half an hour, corrode the skin to such an extent that poorly healing ulcers form on it. Therefore, before getting into the boat, miners rub themselves with oil. It is obtained from the fruits of the tallow tree, scientifically it is called butyrosperma Parka... It is this oil that makes their bodies shine in the sun...

9. The salt at the bottom is first loosened, then, blindly, placed into the basket under water. From the basket, after allowing excess water to drain, it is reloaded into a boat... It seems that under such a weight the vessel should sink - but the dense salt solution reliably keeps it afloat. The main thing is not to forget to scoop the salt water out of the boat from time to time. To fill such a boat with salt - here it is called a pirogue - it takes a good worker three hours. During a working day, he must deliver three pirogues to the shore.

10. Men extract salt from the bottom of the lake... This is where their participation in the process ends - all further operations are performed by women, often very young, almost girls... They drag the salt in plastic basins to the shore and dump it there to dry. This work is, perhaps, no easier than men’s - a full basin weighs twenty to twenty-five kilograms... But in Africa, few people are concerned with the issues of protecting women’s and children’s labor...

11. Freshly mined salt is grayish in color. Therefore, after letting it dry, the women wash and sort it out to remove silt and sand... From small hills, each of which has a sign with the name of the owner stuck in it, the purified salt is poured into common heaps, a three-kilometer ridge stretching along the shore of the Pink Lake... It is in them for a year or two waits for wholesale buyers - during this time the salt, under the rays of the tropical sun, has time to fade and become completely white. The salt that is mined here using such primitive methods is exported to African countries and, as an exotic product, even to Europe. The Senegalese themselves are content with salt obtained industrially from sea ​​water.

12. Wholesalers pay about thirty cents for a fifty-kilogram bag. The pie holds approximately five hundred kilograms. It turns out that for a day of hard labor the worker receives only nine dollars. But by African standards this is good money. Otherwise, migrant workers from neighboring countries- Mali, Guinea, Gambia, Upper Volta... They usually don’t stay here longer than two or three years. Otherwise you can become disabled. The Senegalese themselves look down on visiting workers. They make a living with more “skilled” work - buying and reselling salt, and as guides and bodyguards they accompany Europeans who come to see the miracle of nature - a lake whose water seems to be stained with blood...

13. Curious tourists also try to look into the village where salt miners live. It is located right next to the shore. When asked what this place is called, the residents answer: “No way, just a village”... At least three thousand people live here. There are even cars on the street that are old, like almost all cars in this country.

14. Workers build their dwellings from available materials - reeds growing nearby, plastic film, old tires... To call such a building a “shack” means to flatter it greatly. However, in the local climate, nothing more capital is required - the houses are designed to protect their inhabitants not from the cold, but from the sun and, at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, heavy rains...

The same car tires are used instead of well logs - there are four such wells in the village. In Europe, this muddy, salty-tasting water would probably not be used even for technical needs, but here they drink and cook food with it - there is no other way. You can hardly see any grazing goats around the village, although Senegalese peasants breed a lot of them. Beans and corn are the main food of salt miners...

The conditions in which African guest workers live can only be described as terrible. But the inhabitants of these shacks themselves treat the squalor that surrounds them as something completely normal. They didn’t come here to live, but to work - from morning to night to extract salt from the Pink Lake, which these strange Europeans admire so much.

One of the most amazing natural phenomena, is the existence of reservoirs whose water has a pink tint. Of course, this is very rare. Nevertheless, they exist. Here are photographs of such lakes around the world.

Heeler is a lake in southwestern Australia, on Middle Island. Notable for the pink color of the waters. The edges of the lake are surrounded by sand and eucalyptus forest. The island and lake were discovered during the expedition of British navigator Matthew Flinders in 1802. Captain Flinders is said to have spotted the lake while climbing to the top of the island. At the beginning of the 20th century, salt mining began in Lake Hillier, but it was stopped six years later.

It was assumed that the reason for the pink color of the water was the salinity and specific microorganisms living in the lake. Tests conducted in 1950 did not confirm these assumptions. Several studies were carried out in subsequent years, and this moment The reason for the unusual color of the water has not been solved.

From above, Lake Hiller looks like an illustration from a science fiction novel.

Pilot Chuck Berry flies over Lake Hillier, Australia.

Laguna Rosa, pink lake of Salina de Torrevieja in Alicante, Spain. The strange pink-purple color of the Torrevieja lagoon is caused by pigments from Halobacterium bacteria, which live in the extreme salty environments of the lake.

Laguna Rosa as seen from space.

Salt deposits at Salina de Torrevieja.

Not far from the capital of Senegal, Dakar, is one of the unique natural wonders in the world - Lake Retba, also known as Pink Lake due to its unusual color. The unusual color of the lake, which is reflected in its name, is associated with the presence of cyanobacteria in the water, which produce a special pigment. The reservoir, which covers an area of ​​3 square kilometers, is also characterized by high salinity, which allows people to easily float on the water, just like in the Dead Sea.

Retba is also known as Lac Rose. Photo from space.

Salt mining on Lake Retba.

Salt mining on Lake Retba.

Hutt Lagoon is located near Gregory, Australia. Maximum length is 8.6 miles (14 km) width 1.4 miles (2.3 km); The maximum depth of Hutt Lagoon is only 2.1 feet (0.65 m). Algae gives the water its pink color.

Lake Hutt Lagoon in Western Australia.

A large algae production plant has been built at Hutt Lagoon.

Lake Masazir, Azerbaijan. Salt is mined here.

Salt extraction from Lake Masazir.

Lake Natron in northern Tanzania. It is, at most, 57 kilometers (35 miles) long and 22 kilometers (14 miles) wide. The water temperature on the lake is often above 40 ° C. 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.

Natron, Tanzania. View from space.

Despite high temperature and high salt content, Lake Natron is home to the world's only population of endangered lesser flamingos.

Laguna Colorada, aka Red Lagoon, in Bolivia. It is located in Eduardo Avaroa Andean national reserve and close to the border with Chile." This lake is 6.6 miles (10.7 km) long, about 6 miles (9.6 km) wide. Average depth is only 13.8 inches (35 cm), with maximum depth 4.9 ft (1.5 m).

Flamingos in Laguna Colorada, Bolivia.

Lama near the Colorada Lagoon.

Kuerading is a pink lake located 11 km east of city ​​of the same name in Western Australia, on Bruce Rock Road.

Lake Kuerading, view from above.

Salina Cervia, Italy. Salt has been mined here since Etruscan times. In the Middle Ages, this lake was turned into a swamp, but Pope Innocent XII ordered its restoration in 1697.

Salt mining at Salina Cervia.

Dusty Rose Lake in British Columbia. Below on Google Map.

Lake Eyre, otherwise known as Lake Eyre, is the lowest point in Australia. This pink lake in South Australia has a surface area of ​​about 3,668 square miles, with an average depth ranging from 5 feet (1.5 m) to 13 feet (4 m). The pink color comes from the seaweed that grows here in abundance.

National Park Murray-Sunset has four lakes that exude vibrant shades of pink: Lake Crosby, Lake Becking, Lake Kenyon and Lake Hardy" Pink Lake above Kenyon Lake. The color of these lakes is due to the presence of red algae, which, along with the layer of salt in the lakes, creates this unusual hue.

Lake Beking. Sunset.

Lake Crosby.

Pink Kenyon Lake national park Murray Sunset, Australia.

Kenyon Lake

Several thousand years ago Lake Magadi was freshwater.

McLeod Lake. Australia.

Salt ponds in San Francisco Bay. Different types of algae and high salt concentrations cause the water to change color several times during the season.

Pink salt Lake in Victoria, Australia.

Pink waves of Pink Lake, Australia.

Reeds and pink water on the lake in Westgate Park, Melbourne, Australia.

Pink Searles Lake near Trona in the Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. USA.

Salt water lake in Westgate Park, Australia.

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 incredible natural formation features 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, especially attracting a large number of tourists. The magical hue 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 peninsula Cape Verde. 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 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 out 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 side.

Our planet is teeming with many mystical, unknown, scary and unusual beautiful places. Red and pink lakes are named after the color of their waters. Most often they have shades of red: pink, crimson, scarlet and closer to orange. Many of them are dangerous and inspire feelings of fear and horror.

Scientists say that the lakes owe their color to the microorganisms that live in their waters.

The creepy Red Lake Natron in Tanzania turns all living things into stone

In Africa, on the border with Kenya, in Tanzania there is an ominous Lake Narton. Everyone who touches him turns to stone. So far these are only careless birds.

Why do they become fossilized? It's simple: ideal alkalinity pH is from 9 to 10.5 and salt keeps the corpses in the condition that you see in the photo.

But the lake cannot be called dead - it is a haven for millions of pink flamingos. Birds come here to breed. This is an ideal habitat for them: predators avoid this lake, and blue-green algae with red pigments are good for food.

How to get to Lake Natron? From Kilimanjaro Airport to Arusha 50 km. And from Arusha it is another 240 km. There are no special tours to this lake, but on the list of tours to the Oldoinyo-Lengai volcano there is an item: visiting Lake Natron. On your own, of course, it will be much more expensive. You can also see the red lake during a safari in the Serengeti National Park National Park) or Great Rift Valley(Great Rift Valley).

Bloody Red Lagoon of Colorado in Bolivia

Another reddish lake, Laguna Colorado, is located in Bolivia, in the town of Eduardo Avaroa on the Altiplano. This is a state park with a salt lake. The color of the water is given by borax deposits and some algae.

The lake is inhabited by the same pink flamingos. Crowds of tourists from all over the world come to see these beautiful birds and the equally beautiful shallow lake.

How to get to Red Lagoon? You can get there from the towns of Tupiza or Uyuni by jeep (300 km). The place can be visited as part of the Andes tour.

Koyash mineral lake in Crimea

Koyashskoye Lake is located near the Borisovka resort, in the Opuk Bay, in the Cimmerian steppes.

To contemplate the beauty of the lake. Its rich pink color and whimsical stone structures It’s worth coming to see the salt crystals in July-August. The water recedes and the salt comes out, settling on everything it meets on its way.

How to get there (get there)? From Feodosia, get to Borisovka and use your own transport along the dirt road. By public route from Kerch to Maryevka and then on foot 7 km.

Red salt lake Sasyk-Sivash in Crimea

And this is another lake on the Crimean peninsula, not far from the resort of Evpatoria. Lake Sasyk-Sivash is pink due to the evaporation of mineral salt. During evaporation, many carotenoid microalgae appear.

The healing properties of salt have attracted tourists for a long time. It has a high content of magnesium and potassium, bromine and calcium.

Another bizarre moment with Lake Sasyk-Sivash is the “boiling of the lake”. This miracle is understandable - it’s all due to underwater fountains (griffins).

How to get to Lake Sasyk-Sivash? You can take an electric train from Evpatoria to Saki. Then take a bus to Pribrezhnoye and walk 2 km. or by car.

The salty Chokraskoe lake is located not far from the village of Kurortnoye on Kerch Peninsula. It, like all the above, has the property of water turning pinkish-red. The reason for this is unicellular algae.

Tourists come here not only to look at the lake, but also to get healing mud - to receive treatment.

How to get there? By bus from Kerch to the village of Kurortnoye and 2 km. on foot.

Pink lakes tend to predominate in Australia. There is a large concentration of these unusual water areas. Lake Hillier is located at the very large island Middle Island in Western Australia.

How to get here? The problem is that the island is not inhabited, and you can see it from the window of an airplane. Although Australian travel companies offer trips on sea ships.

Lake Retba in Senegal

The pink lake Retba is located near the capital of Dakar in Senegal.

Pink lake in Altai

Or rather, not one pink lake, but two. The first lake Bursol or Buturlinskoye is located in the Slavogorodsky district Altai Territory(Bursol village), 500 km. from Barnaul to the steppe. And the second is called Raspberry Lake, located 400 km away. from the capital of Altai, near the village of the same name Raspberry Lake.

These salty pink lakes are a great place to relax and prevent the treatment of many diseases. It is clear that the only industry here is salt mining. The pink color of the lakes comes from the crustaceans Artemia and nauplii.

It is better to get there by your own transport or from Branaul by bus: to Raspberry Lake - to the village of Mikhailovskoye, to Buturlinsky - to Slavgorod.

There are many attractions in Crimea. The most famous of them are: the Grand Canyon, Mount Ai-Petri and bird home. However, there are others on this peninsula that are very interesting, but, unfortunately, few Famous places. The Pink Lake also falls into the category of such attractions. 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 Koyashskoye 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 quickly. 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. At this time of year, the layer in its bowl 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, there are also others in Crimea salt lakes same nice 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.