Saturday, 22 December 2012
Lake Hillier or pink lake situated on the Australian island of Middle Recherche Archipelago (a group of about 105 islands and over 1,200 ‘obstacles to shipping) south-west Coast of Western Australia, near Cape Arid. It’s a saline lake stained to the color pink. The tiny lake width is just 600 meters from the ocean and separated by a narrow strip of land. Its pink color has not yet been clarified; the cause why it’s pink remains a mystery. But in fact these pink lakes are a natural phenomenon and not only draw visitors from far and wide but also offer livelihoods to local peoples.
Even it has a shape resembling a footprint from the edge of forest and separated by a belt of sand mixed with salt. Hilier lake color is eternal, even though entry of water into a container. In 1802, the British explorer Mathew Flinder and hydrograph visited this place, their settlements were in this place whalers and seal hunters. Scientists & researchers are curiously finding the reason of its color, as it was initially thought that color of algae produce such Dunaliella Salina, which generates a red dye, but their conjecture is not confirmed and still under investigation.
According to some scientists the possible explanation is that it involves the low nutrient concentrations and diverse types of bacteria and algae. The pink coloration could also be from a sea salt and nahcolite deposit reaction or red halophilic bacteria in the salt crusts. . Pink lake brilliant color is best viewed at dawn, in the late afternoon or under a cloudy sky. Hillier Lake or Pink Lake is Australian most stunning coastal scenery, seven kilometres from the town of Esperance. Hillier lake has been identified by BirdLife International as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports noteworthy numbers of native and migratory birds. There’s are plenty to do around Esperance including horse riding, walking and cycling, fishing, scuba diving, whale-watching windsurfing, abseiling, kayaking and 4WD drive tours.