These Real Life Pink Lakes Look Like Something Out of Dr. Seuss
Oddities from Australia
If someone offered to take you to see a bright pink lake you might think they were asking you to do some sort of drug. Despite the strange nature of these bodies of water, pink lakes do indeed exist. These lakes are extremely rare, with only a few examples confirmed on each continent. The perfect combination of natural elements turns usually blue water bright pink. These lakes are not just slightly pink. They are visibly, noticeably pink. Which makes them deeply cool.
So, where are these lakes located? What causes their strange coloring? Can you see these lakes?
What Makes A Lake Turn Pink?
The pink water of these special lakes comes from a unique combination of algae and bacteria. One particular alga, Dunaliella salina, creates a byproduct that makes the water appear pink. This byproduct is something called a carotenoid. The algae that produce these pink carotenoids only thrive in environments that are hypersaline. Lakes with extremely high levels of salinity where these alga lives are very rare, which is why you don’t see pink lakes…
