Right, the hue blue is typically what comes to mind when we think of a body of water. Nevertheless, what if we told you that there are pink lakes in the world? Yes, there are pink lakes. Australia is home to the majority of the pink lakes in the globe, which range from vivid pink to subdued salmon tones.
Middle Island, off Western Australia’s southern coast, is home to Lake Hillier, one of the country’s most well-known pink lakes. Its dimensions are roughly 250 metres (820 feet) wide by 600 metres (2,000 feet) long. The lake is encircled by a sand margin and a substantial eucalyptus and paperbark tree forest.
Its northern edge and the northern shore of Middle Island are separated by a short sliver of sand dunes covered in vegetation. The rich pink colour of the lake is its most striking characteristic.
In addition to Lake Hillier, Australia is home to a few other pink lakes. A 5-kilometer length of exposed coral reef surrounds the charming fishing community of Port Gregory. Hutt Lagoon is a 70-square-kilometer lagoon that surrounds the popular tourist destination at the Hutt River mouth and is just a few metres from the hamlet. The majority of the lagoon is located a few metres below sea level. It is separated from the Indian Ocean by a barrier dune system and beach barrier ridge.
With its colours shifting through the spectrum from red to bubblegum pink to lilac-purple depending on the time of day, season (time of year), and amount of cloud cover, Hutt Lagoon, noted for being the venue for Australia’s different fashion shoots, boasts higher than Lake Hillier.
Do you want to discover why Lake Hillier has such a vivid bubblegum pink hue?
A team of scientists from the Extreme Microbiome Project (XMP), a division of the Metagenomics Research Group (MGRG), Association of Biomolecular Resource Facilities (ABRF), made the decision to investigate the lake’s enigmatic pink hue in 2015. Prior to now, it was thought that the lake’s microalgae or high salt content were to blame for the hue. The goal of the XMP researchers was to investigate and ascertain the cause of the pink colour because they held the opinion that the harsh, salty environment of Lake Hillier was home to extremophile bacteria, microorganisms that can survive in extremes of temperature, acidity, alkalinity, or chemical concentration. They collected water samples and employed DNA testing to examine their findings. Even after the water was put into a container and brought to a lab for analysis, the beautiful colour remained.
They found several Dunaliella algae species, all of which have pink or red colouring, and eleven salt-loving bacteria species. All of these are reasonable theories, but they also found something far more amazing. 33% of the DNA collected was proven to be the work of one bacterium, Salinibacter ruber. The bacterium, not the microalgae, is thought to be responsible for the wonderful pink hue.
Isn’t it amazing how curiosity can lead to amazing discoveries, like that of the Dunaliella algae species that make the pink lakes of Australia pink!