Wild Looking Pink Lake... But Is It Real? How Could It Form? Details Inside...
I enjoy posting about some of the odd phenomena of the earth and the science behind the oddities. Tonight I introduce you to the "Pink Lake" of Australia named Lake Hillier.
Image courtesy of Flickr
Is This Real? How Does It Happen?
It is not everyday that you see a lake that appears to look like it was filled with Pepto-Bismol!
Lake Hillier is an odd pink lake and one of the few that we do have in the world. Lake Hillier is located on Middle Island in the western part of Australia. What makes it famous is obvious... the pink color and yes it is real. Lake Hillier is not a huge lake but is nearly 3/8 of a mile long.
It is belived that the odd pink color in these rare "pink lakes" comes from a combination of the following...
- The alga Dunaliella salina
- Halobacterium Halobacteria cutirubrum
- A high concentration of brine prawn
The interesting part is how important the salt water is to the color. Once the salt content, or salinity, gets higher than the sea water combined with high enough temperatures / sunlight the alga begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene. Notice the color red that the alga accumulate. In the above mentioned conditions, the pink halobacteria begin to grow at the bottom of the lake very quickly as well. So we have a color of red/pink noted in the above organisms. As a balance is struck between the alga and halobacterium, we get this amazing pink color! The color is real and even if you draw a glass of water from the lake, you will see the pink color.
Now to the real question... can you safely swim in the Pink Lake? The answer is yes! The lake has never been shown to produce any adverse effects on people.
Here are a few more amazing photos of the Pink Lake of Australia!
Images courtesy of Flickr
Finally my question to you... would you swim in one of the Pink Lakes of the world? I might actually try it!
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No, don't like color. I won't swim in it.
Makes me think about the Nile turning into blod in Bible.
Posted by: Cathy Beasley | 09/04/2013 at 10:29 PM
Interesting, how come I've never heard of it, seems like something everyone would have heard of.
Posted by: Israel | 09/04/2013 at 11:23 PM
I think it would feel really strange, but a lake is a lake I guess no matter what color the lake was I would swim in it.
Posted by: Teresa Lane | 09/05/2013 at 10:15 AM
Hell yeah I'd swim in it !!! Now it's on my bucket list !!
Posted by: Troy Slaten | 09/06/2013 at 09:45 PM
it can't be good for you to swim in all that bacteria. no thanks!
Posted by: Serena | 09/07/2013 at 05:19 PM