The Pink Lake, near Esperance, WA (from the plane)
The Pink Lake is (variable shades of) pink chiefly because of the salt dissolved in the water. But the lake changes colour dramatically as a result of a complex interaction between a salt-loving green alga (Dunaliella salina) and a pink-colored halobacterium that, despite it's name, is not a bacterium at all but an ancient species of archaea, that lives in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake.
Once the lake water reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea water, if the temperature is high enough and depending on the amount of sunlight, the green alga alga also begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene, dramatically changing the hue of the water.
WA Salt Supply (last image below) produces a variety of salts from the Lake including: water softening salt, coarse salt and salt for preserving sheepskin. The salt is kiln dried, crushed and bagged at the site before being distributed.
Once the lake water reaches a salinity level greater than that of sea water, if the temperature is high enough and depending on the amount of sunlight, the green alga alga also begins to accumulate the red pigment beta carotene, dramatically changing the hue of the water.
WA Salt Supply (last image below) produces a variety of salts from the Lake including: water softening salt, coarse salt and salt for preserving sheepskin. The salt is kiln dried, crushed and bagged at the site before being distributed.
The images in the collages were made with an OM-1 camera and a 12-40mm f/2.8 lens through the open side of a small Cessna plane.
Salt processing plant
