People are talking about the pink lakes of the world but this is not a new phenomenon. These strawberry milk shake-colored lakes have existed for centuries or more...
Lake Retba or Lac Rose (Senegal): lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal, north east of Dakar. It is so named for its pink waters, caused by Dunaliella salina in the water. The color is particularly visible during the dry season. The lake is also known for its high salt content, which, like that of the Dead Sea, allows people to float easily.
The lake also has a small salt collecting industry and is often the finishing point of the Dakar Rally. Many salt collectors work 6–7 hours a day in the lake, which has a salt content close to 40%. In order to protect their skin, they rub their skin with "Beurre de Karité" (shea butter, produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut tree), which is an emollient used to avoid tissue damage. This lake was used on a task of the Amazing Race 6 in which teams had to collect salt in a basket from the bottom of the lake floor. (via Wikipedia)
Pink Lake (Australia): is a salt lake in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. The lake is not always pink in colour but the distinctive colour of the water when the lake is pink is a result of the green alga Dunaliella salina, halobacterium"Halobacteria cutirubrum, and or high concentration of brine shrimp. Once the lake water reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea water, the temperature is high enough and adequate light conditions are provided, the alga begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene. The pink halobacteria grow in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake and the colour of the lake is a result of the balance between D. salina and H. cutirubrum. (via Wikipedia)
Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA): located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, and the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. The Great Salt Lake is endorheic (has no outlet besides evaporation) and has very high salinity, far saltier than sea water (not always pink-colred). The Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers (the three major tributaries) deposit around 1.1 million tons of minerals in the lake each year, and since water (but not the minerals) is constantly being evaporated, the concentration of minerals increases further. Because of its unusually high salt concentration, most people can easily float in the lake as a result of the higher density of the water, particularly in the saltier north arm of the lake, Gunnison Bay. The lake's shallow, warm waters cause frequent, sometimes heavy lake-effect snows during late fall, early winter, and spring. Although it has been called "America's Dead Sea", the lake provides habitat for millions of native birds, brine shrimp, shorebirds, and waterfowl, including the largest staging population of Wilson's Phalarope in the world. (via Wikipedia)
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