Okay...call me an unwashed heathen.
Until this virtual adventure I had never seen or heard of a pink lake.
Now I find that there are quite a few scattered around the world...including a couple in Western Australia.
Hillier is deemed one of the best.
Lake Hillier with its Peptol Bismol pink hue is best seen from the air. On land the waves appear more clearish pink.
The white shoreline, appearing like pristine beach sand, is actually heavy salt deposits.
Dried and crystallized.
The pink color remains evident even if the water is containerized.
Hillier was discovered on the edge of Middle Island off the coastline of Western
Australia in 1802. It is 2000 feet in length and 820 feet in width and aside from the microbes which make up its pink color...it is completely devoid of life. The waters are heavily saline (comparable with The Dead Sea) and for several years after discovery the site was used as a salt mine. The dried salt on its shore so pure at the time it was discovered this was written by the captain of the ship:
In the north-eastern part was a small lake of a rose colour, the water of which, as I was informed by Mr. Thistle who visited it, was so saturated with salt that sufficient quantities were crystallized near the shores to load a ship. The specimen he brought on board was of a good quality, and required no other process than drying to be fit for use.
Hillier is safe for swimming. The microbes, giving it the pink color, non-toxic.
Six miles away...another pink lake once existed (Lake Spencer) In 1966 the waters changed from pink to white and now it is clear. Since salt mining continued at Spencer but was halted in a very few years at Hillier speculation is that the microbes which cause the odd color (and must have a high volume of salt to water) could not live in the lowered salinity.
Tours
https://youtu.be/Qal38Bq1dyw
https://youtu.be/idkwZ-t1DVI
