The Mysterious Pink Lake of Australia - Lake Hillier

On the largest island in Western Australia’s Recherche Archipelago sits a picture of the surreal.

A bright pink lake called Lake Hillier has entranced both tourists and scientists for years, with the latter speculating that its bubble-gum hue is likely the result of salt-loving algae.

In a new investigation, researchers confirmed the presence of these and many other ‘extremophile’ microbes that contribute to the lake’s unusual colour.

About Pink Lake

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• 1. Lake Hillier is a lake located in the Recherche Archipelago, on Middle Island, the largest island in the archipelago, south of Western Australia.
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• 2. Lake Hillier is famously coloured pink, which can be seen as a stunning bubblegum pink from the air and transparent pink from land.
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• 3. Lake Hillier is believed to be first discovered by Europeans in 1802, by navigator Matthew Flinders, while circumnavigating Australia, who, along with shipmaster John Thistle, discovered the water’s high salt content.
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• 4. ‘Lake Hillier’ is also known as ‘pink lake’, and is the home to many birds, both native and those that migrate.
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• 5. Lake Hillier, at its longest point, is 600 metres (1969 feet) and at its widest, is 250 metres (820 feet).

• 6. Lake Hillier is surrounded by a thick covering of eucalyptus and paperbark trees, and the lake is difficult to access via land due to the dense forests.
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• 7. The cause of the pink colour of Lake Hillier is uncertain, even though it has been investigated, and it is possibly caused by the high salt content, the pigments in the water’s algae or the pigments of bacteria in the salt crusts, or a combination of the three.
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• 8. For six years, in the early 1900s, Lake Hillier was used for salt mining.
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• 9. Lake Hillier’s pink coloured water will still look pink when removed from the lake and placed in a container.
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• 10. Lake Hillier is only separated from the ocean by a thin band of trees and plants located on sand dunes.

Facts About Pink Lake

1. It is a saline lake

2. It is about 600 metres in length by about 250 metres in width

3. The color of lake is pink and is permanent

4. It is not known why water in this lake is pink

5. Only living organism in Lake Hillier is Dunaliella salina

6. Lake Hillier is safe to swim in

7. There is no fish in it.

AUSTRALIA IS HOME to many unique geological phenomena, but few are as bizarre as our pink-coloured lakes. These ‘strawberry-milk’ lakes look good enough to drink, but are actually some of the saltiest bodies of water in the world.

Lake Hillier is one of Australia’s most famous pink lakes, located off the southern coast of Western Australia on Middle Island.  British explorer, Matthew Flinders, discovered the lake in January 1802 when he climbed the highest peak on the island and noticed “a small lake of a rose colour”. The lake turned out to be as saline as the Dead Sea, and Flinders used the opportunity to top up his ship’s salt stores.

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