Pink Lake Hillier in Australia

When you think of what color a lake might be; blue, brown, maybe even green may come to mind. But I doubt you would ever associate the color pink with of body of water. Well for anyone traveling over the western islands of Australia this unbelievable phenomenon can be witnessed with their own eyes.

The captivating pink lake is not a trick of the light, and it retains it’s hue when removed, but the origin of it’s bubble gum aesthetics remains a mystery the science community is still trying to solve. best guess right now is that it has to do with the high salt levels in the water. Being that Lake Hillier is 10 times saltier than the ocean, it is the perfect breeding ground for the salt loving micro-algae Dunaliella Salina. These tiny little guys produce pigment compounds that absorb light like Beta Carotene which is the same kind of stuff that makes carrots orange and some cabbages purple.