Imagine jumping into a large, beautiful, pink lake. This is not a fictional story, but it is really possible in Australia. The south coast of Western Australia is home to Lake Hillier, a lake whose water is naturally pink. The lake is located on Middle Island in the “Recherche Archipelago”. Oddly enough, even if you take the water out of the lake, it will still be pink.
Lake Hillier is 250 meters wide and 600 meters long with a land full of sand, eucalyptus trees and dense forest land, also with a narrow strip full of vegetation and a beach full of sand from the Southern Ocean to the north side is separated by a blue sea on one side and a pink lake on the other.
Lake Hillier was first discovered in 1802 by a British sailor and navigator named Matthew Flinders. In January of that year, he went ashore and climbed the highest peak on the island that bears his name today. He wrote in his notes that at the beginning of his arrival on this beach, he was surprised to see this small rose-colored lake. He decided to name the hill after a shipwrecked man named William Hillier, who died of bloody diarrhea after entering the shores. When the crew went to the shore to check, they found that the lake water was as salty as the Dead Sea water.
Captain Flinders writes in his memoir: In the northeast, there was a small lake the color of a rose, the water of which, as visited by Mr. Tistel, was highly saturated with salt, and some of it even near the shore of the lake. , Was crystallized.
Researchers at the eXtreme Microbiome Project, which studies all harsh environments, have explored the lake. They tested the lake’s water to identify some of the algae, archaebacteria and bacteria that make up Lake Hillier’s microbiome.
The team collected sediment and water from different parts of the lake and then performed a “metagenomic analysis” on it. In this experiment, they extracted DNA and used genetic information to identify the species. Eventually it turned out that different types of salt-loving microbes live in this lake.
They also found the algae Donalilla salina, which scientists speculated was present in Lake Hillier, as it is also found in Lake Retba in Senegal. As a result, Lake Hillier is not the only pink lake in the world, and Lake Ratba off the coast of Senegal is also pink.
Donalilla salina algae produce pigment compounds called carotenoids that help absorb light and produce a pink color. But the reason for this pink color is not only these algae. The team also found several species of archaebacteria and several types of bacteria called “Salinibacter”. All of these species are also red and may have effects on the pink color of the lake.
Strange things came out of this research. One of the organisms present in the lake specimens was a bacterium known as Dechloromonas aromatica. This bacterium is commonly used to break down compounds such as benzene and toluene, which are often used in chemical solvents and are usually found in places contaminated with these solvents. Therefore, its presence in the lake water was very unexpected. But it turned out that Lake Hillier was a tanning station for animals in the early 1990s.
According to the official site of Lake Hillier, this lake is completely safe for swimming. Despite the pink color of this lake, its water is clear and healthy and does not harm you or your skin. Algae are also completely harmless, but drinking water is forbidden due to the concentration of salt.
Remember that this lake is different from other lakes and its salt is very harmful to humans and irreparable damage. There are stories about this lake that in 1803 a person took several barrels of salt from this lake to use to cook his prey and finally he died of bloody diarrhea.
Lake Hillier is 7 km from the city of Spars. You can get to this city, then travel to this pink lake by boat and helicopter and immerse yourself in the pink world. Visiting the lake is very difficult due to its location in a protected area, and the best way to see it is to watch from the sky, where you can see its bright pink color clearly compared to the surrounding forests and the Indian Ocean.
Lake Hillier is now primarily a tourist attraction, but was once used for salt mining.
It is possible to visit Lake Hillier in all seasons; But June to September is considered the best time to visit Pink lake Hillier. In spring, the weather is still a bit cold and you should bring warm clothes to visit this lake. If you are interested in sunbathing and you are not afraid of sunburn, choose summer for traveling. Autumn is the best time to visit Lake Hillier because the plants are lush and beautiful and the heat is not annoying. From November to April is not a good time to visit Hillier because the cool breeze and cold weather will disturb your enjoyment of the beauties.
