If you find yourself once in West Africa, be sure to 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 sights of Senegal. What is its secret?
The 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 becomes incredibly bright, attracting a particularly large number of tourists. The magical shade of water, combined with a multitude of boats sliding over 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 there. 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 pond 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 in the throat in the water and manually scoop salt from the bottom. This is very hard work, but it is paid with dignity. Therefore, flat boats cover the whole coastline daily.
History of Retba
Once there was a lagoon connected to the Atlantic Ocean. The surf struck 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 the extraction of salt quite affordable. The water is gradually returning, and the workers are standing on it by the shoulders, but only twenty years ago the level here was 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. 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: 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 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.