Why is lake hiller australia pink? Pink Lake Hillier in Australia: photos, videos about why the lake is pink


Lake Hillier, located on Middle Island, Western Australia, is a unique a natural phenomenon. Soft pink shades of water against the background of golden sand and green eucalyptus trees create fantastic landscapes. The shallow body of water is of natural origin; this color is not the result of a release of chemicals, but another wonder of the world. Its length does not exceed 600 meters, and its width is about 250 meters.

The source of the pink color of Lake Hillier has not yet been found, but according to one of the hypotheses of scientists, colored water is the result of the vital activity of microorganisms and bacteria that live in this salty reservoir. Moreover, the level of salt content here is much higher than in coastal ocean waters, and in the dry summer months, pink shades turn into coral and burgundy. The unusual color of Lake Hillier was discovered in 1802 during the expedition of Captain Matthew Flinders, an Australian explorer, hydrographer and scientist.









IN last years Lake Hillier attracts more and more tourists who want to see the natural wonder with their own eyes. The most contrasting colors of the water can be observed during the Australian summer (December to February). At other times of the year, the pink color is slightly less saturated.

How to get there

The best way to observe the scenery of Middle Island, on which Lake Hillier is located, is from the air. Most flights landing in the Australian city of , fly over the Recherche archipelago - and in good weather there is a chance to see a pink pond.

Another option is to rent a boat or yacht in the small coastal town of Esperance (Esperance, 130 kilometers northwest).

Location

Lake Hillier is located on Middle Island, the largest island in the Recherches archipelago, located off south coast state of Western Australia.

Mother nature does not give us a break and brings new surprises and gifts to all mankind.
It is thanks to her that a completely common phenomenon on our planet may seem to us a completely unsolvable mystery and have the name "inexplicable miracle of nature."
The strange Lake Hillier, located in Australia, has become such a miracle for us. And it became strange due to its unusual color, which under different lighting takes on all shades of pink.

Hiller is a real jelly lake with milky shores. Only this jelly is salty, and milk is sandy. Small, only 600 m long and 250 m wide, the shallow Lake Hillier has gained worldwide fame for its unique pink color, and the water retains its color even when it is poured into vessels. " pink lake» Surrounded on all sides by a thin strip white sand and dense green thickets of eucalyptus. If you look at this landscape from a bird's eye view, you get the impression that someone has spilled jelly on the map.


LOCATION

Pink Lake in Australia is located in Indian Ocean, Rechers archipelago (near south coast Western Australia), Middle Island.

For the first time, the "pink lake" was noticed by the British navigator Matthew Flinders, when in 1802 he stopped at Middle Island, heading for Sydney. It was he who described this lake in his book "A Voyage to Terra Australis" ("Journey to Australia").
Later, in the years 1820-1840, whalers and seal hunters stopped on the island. It is they who are credited with the buildings, the remains of which were found by the expedition of the Australian Geographical Society in 1950. But there is an opinion that the artifacts found on the island: the remains of wooden beds, seal skins and salt in a cardboard box belonged not to whalers, but to salt miners.

There is information that Middle Island has long served as a haven for people persecuted by the Law.

RESEARCH

In the middle of the 20th century, a group of scientists tried to find out what is the reason for such an amazing color of Lake Hiller. According to them, the pink color of the water should have been given by the seaweed Dunaliellasalina (popularly - "Red algae"), which, getting into salt water, secrete a red pigment. It is this pigment that colors other Australian lakes. However, not the slightest trace of algae was found in water samples taken from Lake Hiller, so the mystery of the Pink Lake remains unsolved to this day.



THE LEGEND OF THE LAKE

This place also has its own legend, known to a few sailors and even fewer overland. According to her, in the 17th century, a ship caught in a storm sank in these waters. The only surviving sailor was thrown onto a desert island.

The element pretty much crippled the lucky one. Because of the broken limbs, every movement brought pain, and the extraction of food turned into torture. A few weeks later, the sailor, distraught with pain and loneliness, exclaimed in his hearts: “I will sell my soul to the devil if this nightmare stops!”

At the same moment, a strange man came out from the shadow of a nearby tree with two jugs in his hands: one contained blood, the other milk. He slowly walked to the island's small inland lake and said, “The blood will help you forget what pain is. Milk will relieve you of hunger. You just have to take a dip in these waters."

After that, the stranger poured the contents of the jars into the lake, which caused it to change color. The sailor, who thought he had lost his mind, slowly entered the suspicious pink water and dived, and when he surfaced the strange man was nowhere to be found. To the surprise of the traveler, there was no trace of fractures and hunger.

Later, pirates landed on this island, and they captured the poor sailor. In the future, the filibusters were alerted by the fact that the prisoner did not feel pain and did not need food. Considering this a bad sign, superstitious pirates threw the sailor overboard, not believing in his mystical story of miraculous healing.

It is worth noting that original name lake "Hiller" in pronunciation is absolutely consonant with the English word "Healer", which translates as "Healer" ...

Lake Hillier is rightfully considered the most beautiful mystery of nature, because scientists still cannot explain why it is pink. The reservoir is located on Middle Island off the west coast of Australia. It was discovered by seal and whale hunters in the nineteenth century. In an effort to cash in, they organized salt mining in the surrounding area, but a few years later they closed this business due to low profitability. The lake has aroused great scientific interest only recently.

Feature of Lake Hillier

The reservoir itself is located in a bowl of salt deposits, enchanting with their ornate forms. Coastline is approximately 600 km. But the most unusual lies in the water, because it is bright pink. Looking at the island from a bird's eye view, you can see a beautiful saucer filled with jelly among a massive green canvas, and this is not an optical illusion, because if you collect liquid in a small container, it will also be colored in rich color.

Tourists going on a long journey are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to swim in such unusual pond. Lake Hiller does not pose a danger, but it is so shallow that even in the middle it will not cover a person to the waist. But the photos of tourists near the picturesque area, replete with colors, are impressive.

Phenomenon inexplicable

Scientists tried to unravel the mystery of a strange phenomenon, putting forward one hypothesis after another. Lake Retba also has a pinkish tint, which is caused by algae living in the water. The scientific community argued that such inhabitants should be present in Hiller, but they could not find anything.

Another group of scientists referred to the special mineralization of the composition of the water, but studies did not show any unusual properties that give a strange color to the reservoir. Still others, having heard about the color of the Australian lake, said that the reason was chemical waste, but there were no enterprises near the island. It is surrounded by virgin nature, which has not been touched by the hand of man.

No matter how many hypotheses have been put forward, so far none has turned out to be reliable. The scientific community is still looking for a reasonable explanation for the amazing shade of Lake Hiller, which catches the eye with its beauty.

The legend of the appearance of a natural miracle

Exists beautiful legend explaining the mystery of nature. According to her, a shipwrecked traveler landed on the island many years ago. He wandered the area for many days in search of food and in the hope of easing the pain of injuries after the crash. All his attempts did not lead to success, therefore, in despair, he exclaimed: “I will sell my soul to the devil, just to get rid of the torment that has fallen on me!”

After such a statement, a man appeared in front of the traveler with a pair of jugs. One contained blood, the other contained milk. He explained that the contents of the first vessel would relieve pain, and the second would satisfy hunger and thirst. After these words, the stranger overturned both jugs into the lake, which immediately turned pink. The wounded traveler entered the pond and felt a surge of strength, pain and hunger evaporated and never again caused inconvenience.

There are many pink lakes in the world and even a few in Ukraine. But today I want to talk about two such lakes in Australia. Some people mistakenly believe that this is the same pink lake because both of them are in Western Australia.

Photo by Margherita-Italy on Panoramio

The Goldfields Esperance region has salt Lake with the name Pink Lake. It is located about 3 km west of the town of Esperance on the far south coast and is very popular with tourists.


photo by anaberdi on Panoramio


photo by deglobalnomad on Panoramio

The lake is not always pink, but its distinctive water color is the result of the green algae Dunaliella salina (Dunaliella salina), halobacterium Halobacterium cutirubrum, and or a high concentration of brine. As soon as the water of the lake reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea ​​water, the air temperature is quite high and the necessary amount of light passes through the water, favorable conditions are created in which the algae begins to accumulate the red pigment beta-carotene.


photo by trev007 on Panoramio


photo by urs on Panaramio


photo by henkel2009 on Flickr

To get a better view of the lake and take great photos of this place, take a walk to the Pink Lake observation deck. Sunblock lenses placed in front of the camera lens will create a dramatic effect, or even better, use a polarizing filter.

Almost 100% pure table salt is collected from ponds in the eastern part of the lake. You can see huge reserves of salt from observation deck. Pink Lake coordinates 33°50′43″S 121°49′40″E

Esperance can be reached by car in a day from Perth, or fly there in two hours. Similar lakes with rose water scattered throughout Western Australia from Esperance in the south to Kalbarri on west coast, also found in Victoria, South Australia. For example, in Port Gregory, Tambellup, near Dimboola, in national park Murray Sunset National Park and other parks and reserves in Australia.

Pink Lake in Western Australia


photo by radu.bargaoan on Flickr

Pink Lake in Port Gregory, Australia


photo by Marc Russo on Flickr

If everything is clear with the origin of the pink color of this lake, then the mystery of the pink Lake Hillier (Lake Hillier) has not yet been solved.

On the south coast of Australia there is a group of over 100 islands known as the Recherche Archipelago. On one of the islands, Middle Island, among dense forests of eucalyptus, is the brilliant Lake Hillier. It looks like a giant footprint on a green carpet surrounded by white sand. The peculiarity of this lake is its bright pink color. Flying on a plane over Middle Island, all passengers try to look at mysterious lake from a height, in order to make sure that it is still pink and take a picture for yourself as a keepsake. Lake Hillier coordinates 34°5′45″S 123°12′10″E


photo by JWB on Panoramio

Unlike the Pink Lake, this is its permanent color, which does not change even if you draw water into a container. Some tourists even manage to bring some rose water to their homeland as a souvenir, I guess. It is unlikely that they use it in any other way, because medicinal properties this miracle of water has not yet been identified.

The island itself and Lake Hillier were first explored back in 1802 by the British navigator and captain Matthew Flinders. He saw the lake from the very high point islands and even then they took a sample of its water and found salt in it. The reason for the color of the lake is still under research, and so far no one has come up with a reasonable explanation for this. However, the most likely explanation according to some scientists suggests a low concentration of nutrients and various kinds bacteria, as well as algae, which are responsible for the pink color of the lake. But so far, no traces of algae have been found in water samples taken from Lake Hillier, so the theory of the origin of the pink color due to Dunaliella salina algae has been refuted. The lake is one of natural wonders not only Australia, but the world.

Lake Hillier(Lake Hillier) - the most unusual lake in Australia, the main feature of which is the pink color of the water.

(10 photos of pink Lake Hillier + video)

pink lake located on Middle Island (Middle Island) in Western Australia. The Middle Island is the largest of the 105 islands that make up the Exploration Archipelago, which stretches along the southern coast of Western Australia.

Of all the islands of this archipelago, it is the Middle Island that is the most visited among tourists. The pink lake is of great interest not only to travelers, but also to researchers.

Lake Hillier was first discovered in 1802 by the British navigator Matthew Flinders.

At the beginning of the 20th century, salt began to be mined on Lake Hiller, but after 6 years, mining was stopped and for some time Sredinny Island was literally forgotten.

In 1950, an expedition was sent to an unusual lake to analyze the water. Initially, scientists assumed that algae gave the characteristic pink color in Lake Hiller.

But the tests carried out did not confirm the assumptions of scientists. As a result, scientists have not given an answer to why the water in Lake Hillier has a bright pink color. Until now, the mystery of Lake Hillier remains unsolved.