Welcome to Barbie world! At least that is what it looks like at first glance, when you see images of the 'Pink Lakes'. Those are no artificially coloured lakes, but an impressive natural spectacle. There are only around a dozen of the kind, one of them even in Europe. Let us tell you more about the extraordinary phenomenon.
Cause For the Pink Colour
Why exactly the lakes are coloured pink is not known for certain in all cases. Most pink lakes, however, have very high salinity. Scientists assume that the colour is connected to bacteria that settles on the crust of salt. At Dusty Rose Lake in Canada, on the other hand, it is rock particles that give the lake its unusual colour.
This is an image of the only pink lake in Europe. It is located near Alicante in Spain:
By the way, not all pink lakes always glow in such bright pink, but depend very much on weather and light conditions. Sometimes there is just a hint of rose, or the colour vanishes completely for some time.
The Most Beautiful One: Lake Hiller in Australia
The phenomenon of pink lakes can be found on all continents, but Australia is the only one to feature more than one of them. Down Under is also home to the most beautiful one of them, Lake Hiller, which shines in a bright pink at all seasons and in every weather. Unfortunately, the 600m/2000ft long lake cannot be visited, as it is located on Middle Island at the south of Australia, which people are banned from entering.
However, the city of Esperance offers scenic flights where you get a spectacular view of the lake from the air. Particularly impressive: only a small green area divides the lake from the blue ocean.
Pink Lakes Across the World
| Australia | Lake Hiller Pink Lage Hutt Lagoon Quairading Pink Lake |
|---|---|
| Canada | Dusty Rose Lake |
| Mexico | Pink Lagoon / Las Colorados |
| Bolivia | Laguna Colorado |
| Spain | Salinas de Torrevieja |
| Senegal | Lake Retba |
| Azerbaijan | Masazirgol Lake |
A lake than can be directly accessed by car is Hutt Lagoon at Australia's Coral Coast:
