It would seem, what else can surprise the mainland, in which almost everything is so unusual? But Lake Hillier, with bright pink water, is an unsolved wonder of stunning Australian nature.
It is located in the Recherche archipelago, on its largest island Middle (Middle), off the southern coast of Australia. Lake Hillier is s alty and shallow, and the water in it has a juicy dense pink color. When you fly low enough on a plane, a stunning view opens up, worthy of a surrealist artist’s brush: in the middle of the island lies a bright pink oval with smooth edges, framed by a white “frame” of sea s alt and a dark green eucalyptus forest. The pink expanse of Lake Hillier is often compared to a giant bubblegum or glittery cake icing.
Story of a miracle
Pink Lake in Australia was first mentioned in 1802 in the notes of Matthew Flinders. This renowned British hydrographer and navigator stopped at Middle Island on his voyage to Sydney.
Then, whalers and hunters who lived off the southern coast of the mainland in the 30-40s of the 19th century told about this lake.
At the beginning of the last century, they decided to mine s alt here, butceased operations after six years. And in the 50s, they conducted the first scientific studies of s alty water of amazing color.
Now Lake Hillier, Australia is visited by numerous tourists who want to see for themselves that it really is as pink as in the photos.
Interesting fact
Water looks bright pink in any amount, even in a small vessel, regardless of the angle of view.
Imagine how amazing the sunset looks when the orange sun slowly sets into clear pink water in the soft pink Australian sky!
Some information
The size of the reservoir is quite small - about 600 meters long and 200 meters wide. Amazing pink water is separated from the ocean by a sandy strip covered with a dense eucalyptus forest. A white ring of sea s alt has naturally formed around the lake, providing additional contrast. Approaching the lake is quite difficult due to the dense ring of eucalyptus trees that surround the lake. But, nevertheless, you can walk here and even swim in s alty rose water!
Why is it pink?
Scientists believed that Lake Hillier owes its juicy pink color to the special seaweed Dunaliella salina, which in very s alty water releases a bright red pigment. Similar algae have been found in other pink lakes around the world.
Samples of Lake Hillier were carefully studied, but no traces of the alleged algae were found. Research was carried outdifferent scientists and at different times, so there is no doubt about the reliability of the result. The color of the water is still a mystery.
Australia loves to dazzle the imagination with this kind of thing, so pink Lake Hillier has taken its rightful place among the living wonders of the local nature, along with the bright red mountain of Uluru, Shark Harbor, the Te Pinnacles desert in Nambung National Park, striped mountains Bungle Bungle, Kangaroo Island, The Simpsons Desert and the Great Barrier Reef.
