Hiller lake(pink lake), Western Australia

Lake Hillier – without outflow lake located on the Australian island of Middle Recherche Archipelago belonging to a complex of about 100 islands off the south-west. coast of Western Australia, near Cape Arid.

It is a saline lake with a width of about 600 meters from the ocean and separated by a narrow strip of land. It has a shape resembling a footprint from the edge of the forest and is separated by a belt of sand mixed with salt. Is located among forested land and eucalyptus trees of the species Melaleuca leucadendra.

The origins of information about the lake date back to the year 1802. This year, the British explorer Matthew Flinders and hydrograph visited this place in his journey to Sydney. In the early years of the nineteenth century, their settlements were in this place whalers and seal hunters.

Lake is stained to the color pink. The reason for this color has not yet been clarified. This color is permanent, even following the entry of water into a container. In the mid-twentieth century, scientists have studied the composition of water in the lake wanting to find out what causes the lake takes on the color pink. At first it was thought that the color of algae that produce such Dunaliella salina, which produce a red dye, but their conjecture is not confirmed.

In the early years of the twentieth century was mined salt from the lake, but after 6 years of mining operation was abandoned.

On the southern coast of Australia is a group of over 100 islands known as the Recherche Archipelago. On one of these, Middle Island, among the lush forests, is shiny lake. It looks like a giant footprint on the green carpet, surrounded by white sand.

It has 600 m in diameter and is relatively shallow. From the deep blue waters of the Indian Ocean is divided by only a narrow strip of scrub, sand dunes and white sand. Once the salt is mined from it, but abandoned it many years ago.

Recherche Archipelago and Lake Hillier were first examined by the expedition of Captain Flinders in 1802.

In 1950, researchers studied the lake, trying to find out what makes it extremely color. They expected to find in its salty waters of the algae. But they found no trace of them and no one can answer the question of where the lake takes its wonderful color.

The most likely explanation is considered that the pink color is caused by low levels of nutrients and by various bacteria and algae.