Lake Retba or Lac Rose lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula of Senegal, north east of Dakar. It is so named for its pink waters, caused by cyanobacteria in the water. The color is particularly visible during the dry season.
The lake is also known for its high salt content, which, like that of the Dead Sea, allows people to float easily. The lake also has a small salt collecting industry and is often the finishing point of the Dakar Rally.
Many salt collectors work 6–7 hours a day in the lake, which has a salt content close to 40%. In order to protect their skin, they rub their skin with “Beurre de Karité” (shea butter, produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut tree), which is an emollient used to avoid tissue damage.
4 comments
Senegal’s big pink lake - 22 Words says:
Jul 1, 2012
[...] (via TYWKIWDBI, Vieweird) [...]
Senegal’s big pink lake | Funri says:
Jul 1, 2012
[...] TYWKIWDBI, Vieweird) LOVE IT! 0 COMMENT 0 01 Jul, 2012 GMT -7 0 views [...]
Le Lac Rose | yes future says:
Jul 6, 2012
[...] Images : vieweird [...]
M. T. Madigan says:
Jul 6, 2012
With the salinity what it is, I doubt this is a cyanobacterial bloom. More likely a bloom of Halobacterium. Does anyone know what organism is blooming here? Also, salinity at 40%? A saturated solution of NaCl is only 32%. Is there any published work on the limnology and microbiology of this lake?