Lake Turkana | Largest Alkaline Lake in the World

Lake Turkana – also called the Jade Sea, is the largest alkaline lake in the world as well as the largest lake in Kenya. Lake Turkana is a massive inland sea, the largest desert lake in the world. The lake is famous for its greenish-blue colors and it is notorius for the strong desert winds making sailing on the lake a sometimes harzardous affair. All this features makes this lake one of the natural wonders of the world.

 

Lake Turkana was originally named Lake Rudolph by Count Samuel Teleki and Lieutenant Von Höhnel in 1888 and was renamed Lake Turkana in 1975. At a length of 300 km long in North-South direction and a width of 50 km wide, Lake Turkana is the largest lake in Kenya and Kenya shares it with Uganda and Tanzania. At an altitude of only 300m above sea level lake Turkana is one of the hottest places in Kenya and the world with temperatures in the region often reaching 50 degrees C.

Lake Retba | Pink Lake of Senegal

Just like Lake Hillier in Australia, Lake Retba in Senegal has pink colored water. It is also called Lac Rose meaning  pink lake. Lake Retba or Lac Rose lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal, north east of Dakar. This lake cover about 3 square kilometers.

It is so named for its pink waters, caused by Dunaliella salina algae in the water that produce a red pigment that uses sunlight to create more energy, turning the waters pink. Dunaliella salina is a salt-loving organism. Depending on the time of day, the lake changes color from a light purple to a deep scarlet pink. 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.

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Lake Hillier | The wonderful pink colored lake in Australia

Lake Hillier

Lake Hillier is situated in the Middle island of Australia. The length of the lake is six hundred meters. The island and lake are thought to have been first charted by the Flinders expedition in 1802.
The most notable feature about this lake is its flamboyant water color, rose pink. It is such a significant distinguishing feature of the archipelago that air passengers often take note of it. This pink color is natural and the color would not change or alter when the water is taken in a container.  Scientist can not prove why the lake color is pink. But they assume that excessive salt, varieties moss and paperbark and eucalyptus trees may be the cause of pink colored water.

Lake Hillier