The Pink Lake.

Lake Hillier is a saline lake on the edge of Middle Island, the largest of the islands and islets that make up the Recherche Archipelago in the Goldfields-Esperance region, off the south coast of Western

We learn from geography classes that water bodies are marked with blue on the map.But nature creates oddities just like Lake Hillier in Western Australia.With its  600 meters in length, Lake Hillier is not one that will impress you by its size. Nor  by its diverse fishes that inhabit ,Lake Hillier delights your eye with its pink colour. Moreover, it lies just next to the Pacific Ocean, thus if you watch it from above, the contrast between the mellow pink of the lake and the blue of the ocean is striking.

The reason of its unique colour  is still not  found by scientists, although most suspect it has to do with the presence of the Dunaliella salina microalgae. The Dunaliella produces carotenoids, a pigment found in carrots as well. But the presence of halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts could be another explanation. A reaction between the salt and the sodium bicarbonate that is found in the water.Hence the lake gets  colour from chemicals which is produce in the water.