Lakes do not seem mysterious at first glance, nevertheless there are a number of lakes that do tell an interesting story. Because most people don’t know that there really is a lake where the water is pink colored, or that there are lakes that may contain unknown life.
Lake Hillier
Under Western Australia is an archipelago (Recherche Archipelago), consisting of 105 islands. The largest island of this group called Middle Island has no human inhabitants but it does have a peculiar lake. This lake is pink colored. Lake Hillier, as the lake is called, does not owe its pink color to the bottom of the lake, the water is really pink.
In January 1802, British explorer Matthew Flinders discovered the Recherche Archipelago, including Middle Island. Once he arrived on Middle Island, Flinders would have sought out the highest point on the island. This highest point, later named after Flinders, is also the point where his eye fell on the pink colored lake. Flinders registered the lake and named it after his crew member, William Hillier, who died on Middle Island. When Flinders and his crew went to investigate the lake closely, they found out that it was very salty.
Despite the high salt content, this is not the reason that it is more pink in color. Since Lake Hillier is not the only pink lake on Earth, scientists believe that Lake Hillier is inhabited by the algae just like the other lakes Dunaliella salina. This algae produces the substance beta-carotene, which is often used in the production of food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Dunaliella salina produces a special colored substance under certain circumstances, such as: a large amount of light, an environment with a low temperature and a high salt concentration. This is also the case with Lake Hillier.
Lake Hillier’s striking color is also enhanced by the surrounding sand and dense green eucalyptus forests just next to the Indian Ocean. The island is accessible even though it is uninhabited and since the lake is non-toxic, you can safely swim.
Loch Ness
An average 132-meter deep lake in Scotland called Loch Ness holds a secret that has kept people busy since July 22, 1933. Loch Ness is said to be inhabited by a large monster, the Loch Ness monster. An appropriate name, despite the less scary nickname Nessie being used.
A thousand people claim to have seen Nessie, one saw a lump, the other a neck and the other a neck with many lumps. They all look a bit alike and therefore the most logical theory is that Nessie is a plesiosaurus. Albeit not that the plesiosaurus died some 65 million years ago. So how come Nessie (and maybe even peers) are still alive? Perhaps the most logical theory is not very logical after all.
Many photos of Nessie passed by that later turned out to be fake. In the year 2000, scientists decided to search for Nessie with sonar equipment. Eventually they came across a five meter shape that looked like Nessie. Later it disappeared, because of the algae in the water, the Loch Ness is so cloudy that the shape was not filmed.
There are many theories as to whether Nessie exists or what people might actually have seen. Whether it concerns a seal, elephant or a large eel, it remains a mystery for the time being.
Lake Vostok
About 150 lakes lie beneath the thick ice sheet of the icy continent of Antarctica. The largest and deepest of these is called the Vostok Lake. The Russians and British found out in 1996 that it existed more by merging data. A major operation began in 1998, the Russians started drilling the ice that was more than 420,000 years old. Unfortunately, the operation had to be halted, 91 meters above the lake. This was because there were fears of contamination, because tons of kerosene and freon were used to keep the borehole from freezing up again. It can be -80 degrees Celsius.
Despite the low temperature above the ice sheet, the temperature of Lake Vostok is only -3 degrees Celsius and liquid. This is due to the pressure of the ice sheet which is 3,623 meters thick. Meanwhile, a new drilling method was found in 2005, a thermal drill head would reach the water. After this, the drill head would either be pushed by the pressure of the water or pulled by the researchers up to 30 to 40 meters above the surface of the water. The underlying water would then freeze and be sampled. On February 6, 2011, the Russians reached the surface of the lake.
It was initially thought that if the lake was reached we would learn more about the Ice Age and whether it contains more prehistoric or unknown life. The latter turned out to be true, Lake Vostok contains thousands of organisms, an estimated 3,500 life forms, varying from bacteria, single-celled organisms and even fungi. Many new organisms have been discovered, while 10 years earlier it was thought that life is not possible in such a deep and cold place.