If you find yourself in West Africa one day,be sure to take a look at the Pink Lake, also known as Retba. The water in it is color like that of potassium permanganate, or a strawberry cocktail. This incredible natural formation is distinguished by a natural bright pink color of water.
Not surprisingly, the lake is considered one of the main attractions of Senegal. What is its secret?
Riddle of rose water
The water of Lake Retba is very salty. For most microorganisms, the level of salt content is deadly, and only one species can survive in it. It is these creatures that give the water its beautiful color. The intensity of the shade can vary from gentle pink to dark brown, all determined by the angle of incidence of sunlight and weather conditions. For example, during the drought season, the Pink Lake in Senegal is becoming incredibly bright, attracting a particularly large number of tourists. The magical shade of water, combined with a multitude of boats gliding along the lake surface, creates a completely surreal picture.
Where is it located?
You can look at the Pink Lake off the Atlantic coast. It is located not far from Dakar, the capital of the country.
Only thirty kilometers from the city, and you're atplace. From the westernmost point of the peninsula here, too, not far - twenty kilometers to the peninsula of the Green Cape. The area of the amazing water body is small (is three square kilometers), and its deepest place is three meters. On the shore there is a village, the workers and traders of which feed the Pink Lake. Photos of this place often illustrate the work of local residents. They stand up to their throats in water and manually scoop salt from the bottom. This is a very hard job, but it is paid adequately. Therefore, flat boats cover the whole coastline daily.
History of Retba
Once there was a lagoon connected toAtlantic Ocean. Surf applied sand from year to year, and the channel gradually fell asleep. In the 70s a drought struck the local places, after which Retba became shallow, making salt extraction quite accessible.
Water is gradually returning, and workers are inher shoulder, but only twenty years ago, the level here was a maximum in the waist. The depth of the lake increases and because people extract about twenty-five thousand tons of salt, gradually scooping the bottom. In addition to microorganisms called dunaliella, which give the water a special shade with its pigment, no other organisms, fish or plants live here. The pink lake is even more deadly for all living things than the famous Dead Sea - salt here is one and a half times more. Drowning is impossible here: dense water keeps objects on the surface. Even the heavily laden prey of the boat do not go to the bottom. You can fill a boat in three hours of hard work, and every worker must repeat this operation three times a day. To salt of such concentration does not corrode the skin, workers are rubbed with a special oil from the fruits of the greasy tree. Otherwise on the skin in half an hour there will be painful ulcers. So it's better to watch the lake from the outside.
