AUSTRALIA'S PINK LAKES

The most interesting thing is that Australia didn't have only one pink lake. Rather it has more than one pink lake. Let's have a look and enjoy your journey towards the mesmerizing World of Nature. Hey! imagine that You are in Australia enjoying the view of pink lakes. So, let’s begin. Hope so that it will help you to increase your knowledge about nature. Then have a look without wasting any further time. 

Australia is home to many appealing natural attractions, but its extraordinary pink lakes have got to be seen to be believed. Australia’s vast country boasts more than a few unbelievable natural wonders, but few are more beautiful - or perplexing - than Australia’s pink lakes.

From the outback of South Australia to the coast of Western Australia, here are the country’s must-see pink lakes. 

LAKE HILLIER, NEAR ESPERANCE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

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 Australia. It is particularly notable for its pink color. 

Area: 15 ha

Width: 250 m

Location: Goldfields-Esperance, Western Australia

Designation: Recherche Archipelago Nature Reserve

Max. Length: 600 m (2,000 ft)

HUTT LAGOON, CORAL COAST, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Hutt Lagoon is a salt lake located near the coast just north of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. 

Length: 14 km

Width: 2.3 km

Location: Mid Western Australia

Basin countries: Australia

Surface elevation: below sea-level

Max. depth: 0.65 m (2 ft 2 in)

LAKE EYRE, OUTBACK SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Lake Eyre is officially known as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre, contains the lowest natural point in Australia, at approximately 15 m (49 ft) below sea level (AHD), and, on the rare occasions that it fills, is the largest lake in Australia, covering 9,500 km² (3,668 sq mi). The shallow endorheic lake is the depocentre of the vast Lake Eyre basin and is found in Northern South Australia, some 700 km (435 mi) north of Adelaide.

When the lake is full, it has the same salinity level as the sea, but as the lake dries up and the water evaporates, salinity increases.

The lake was named by Europeans in honor of Edward John Eyre, who was the first European to see it, in 1840. The lake's official name was changed in December 2012 to combine the name "Lake Eyre" with the indigenous name, Kati Thanda. The native title over the lake and surrounding region is held by the Arabana people.

Surface area 9,500 km² (3,668 sq mi) (max)

Average depth 1.5 m (5 ft) (every 3 years), 4 m (13 ft) (every decade)

LAKE BUMBUNGA, NEAR CLARE VALLEY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Lake Bumbunga is a salt lake located in South Australia's Mid North between the town of Lochiel and the farming locality of Bumbunga.

Salt has been mined there almost continuously since 1881.

Surface area 13.88 km² (5.36 sq mi)

LAKE MACDONNELL, EYRE PENINSULA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Lake MacDonnell is a salt lake on western Eyre Peninsula near the Nullarbor Plain. The closest town is Penong. It is the site of a former salt mine and the largest gypsum mine in Australia, on the largest gypsum deposit in the southern hemisphere.

LAKE HART, WOOMERA, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

The Lake Hart is located inland in the central part of South Australia, about 520 kilometers from the capital Adelaide of South Australia, about 55 kilometers from the Woomera of the small town, covering about 50 square kilometers. This shallow pink lake has a high salt concentration that creates salt crystals under the pastel water. Its isolation in the outback makes way for incredible star-gazing, but the lake is equally impressive as the salt sparkles in the sun. 

THE PINK LAKES, NEAR MILDURA, VICTORIA

Pink Lake (historically known as Lake Lochiel) is a small, circular, salty pink lake on the Western Highway just north of Dimboola. Granville Stapylton, part of the explorer Thomas Mitchell's 1836 expedition into western Victoria, investigated Pink Lake on 20 July 1836.

Location‎: ‎Dimboola, Victoria

Basin countries‎: ‎Australia

Surface area‎: ‎45 ha (111 acres)

Max. length‎: ‎2 km (1 mi)

WHY AUSTRALIA'S PINK LAKES ARE PINK?

On Middle Island off the southern coast of Western Australia sits Lake Hillier, one of Australia's most famous pink lakes. In 2015, a team of researchers from the Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP) decided to conduct an investigation behind the lake's vivid pink hue. In the past, people speculated that the color could be due to its high salt content or from microalgae. The XMP researchers wanted to know for sure, as they suspected that certain extremophiles that thrived in the harsh, salty environment of Lake Hillier might be the true cause. They collected water samples, then performed DNA analysis on what they found. 

In the end, they found 10 species of salt-loving bacteria and several species of Dunaliella algae — all of which are some shade of pink or red. While these are all probable causes, they found something even more surprising. A single species of bacterium called Salinibacter ruber was responsible for 33 percent of the DNA collected. Scientists suspect that this bacteria is the most likely source of the beautiful pink color, not microalgae. 

IS THIS WATER SAFE TO SWIM?

Now imagine yourself diving into a bubblegum-colored lake. Despite bacteria being the reason for the strawberry milk color, Lake Hillier is totally safe to swim in. In fact, the lake's high salt content likely makes the water so dense that you'd float incredibly easily, the way you would in the Dead Sea. But with that being the case, you're probably wondering why you don't see more Instagram posts of people swimming in the cotton-candy water. It's not the aesthetic that's the problem. Unfortunately, traveling to Lake Hillier is extremely difficult because it's on a tiny island that can only be reached by boat or helicopter. Bon voyage!