A Dip in the Strawberry River.

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What may look like a giant pool of strawberry Nesquik is actually Lake Retba in Dakar, Senegal. The lake’s dazzling color is caused by high levels of salt — with some areas containing up to 40% of it.

Extremophile bacteria expert, Michael Danson, explains the phenomenon of the “Strawberry Shake Lake”:

“The strawberry colour is produced by salt-loving organism Dunaliella salina. They produce a red pigment that absorbs and uses the energy of sunlight to create more energy, turning the water pink. Lakes like Retba and the Dead Sea, which have high salt concentrations, were once thought to be incompatible with life – hence the names. But they are very much alive.”

Salt fisherman spend twelve hours per day Oumar extracting the salt of the pink lake.

Photo Courtesy of News Corner.

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