Most spectacular pink lakes in the world

Swimming in a cool, spectacular lake on a warm summer day is a relaxing and pleasing experience, but whirling in a bright pink lake is whole other kind of thrill. Most of them are safe for humans and animals, but some only seem inviting.

microbes, and more specifically, the single-celled organisms known as halobacteria, are responsible for the unique color of some lakes. While most other life would be unable to stand living in such a harsh, salty environment, these tiny “extremophiles” thrive in high-salinity environments, according to Mother Nature Network.

The red-pinkish color of halobacteria is produced by a pigmented protein known as bacteriorhodopsin, which is related to the rhodopsin protein that's used to sense light in the retinas of vertebrates. It is used to absorb energy from the sun. It’s like photosynthesis, but with purple-pigmented bacteriorhodopsin instead of green-pigmented chlorophyll.

Pink lakes are very salty. The salt concentration of the water hovers near saturation, reaching nearly 10 times the salinity, or salt content, of the oceans, according to Live Science. Pigments in these salt-lovers’ cells, including carotenoids like those found in carrots, give the lake and its salt crust a distinctive pink hue.

While Lake Hillier appears bubble gum-colored from the air, the water shows a less dramatic pink hue when viewed from the shore. No one is sure where the color comes from, but scientists have several good guesses. As with other pink salt lakes in the region, the color could originate from the organisms Dunaliella salina and Halobacteria. Alternatively, its color could be due to halophilic bacteria’s that live in Hillier's salt crusts. Either way, the lake is safe for swimming. Lake Hillier has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area because it supports at least 14 species of native and migratory birds. The lake is near-permanent with infrequent periods of drying in the fall.

The pink color of the salt lake of Torrevieja is caused by the presence of salt-loving archaea Halobacterium and Dunaliella salina, a single living organism that can exist in water with a high salt concentration, according to Spain Holiday. Torrevieja started as a small but bustling fishing village in the 18th century. Tourists and visitors enjoy seeing the Flamingos. About 2,000 of them can be seen on the lake during the breeding season.

The lake is in the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal. Lac Rose, as it is known by locals, is separated only by a few narrow dunes from the Atlantic Ocean. The lake salt content is very high and compares to that of the Dead Sea; it even exceeds it during the dry season, which is from November to June. This is also when the pink color is most visible. The lake is just about 1.1 square miles.

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