Lake Retba or Lac Rose is located in the north of the Cap Vert peninsula
of Senegal. It got its name due to the Dunaliella salina algae making
its water look like strawberry milk shake. Pink color is clearly visible
during the dry season. The lake is also famous for its high salt
content, allowing people stay on the surface similar to the Dead Sea
experience.
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"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," said Michael
Danson, an expert in bacteria from Britain's Bath University.
Covering an area of about 3 sq km, the lake is located about 35km
north-east of Senegal’s capital Dakar. Since the 1970s, local residents
have been mining Lake Retba for its salt, which they use mainly to
preserve fish. Waist-deep in water, the men scrape the bottom of the
lake to harvest this universally useful mineral which they collect in
baskets in their wooden canoes. The salt is then taken back to shore
where it is sectioned into small mounds. Dotted along the lake’s shore,
these pristine white hills of salt create an arresting contrast against
the pink of the lake. In order to protect their skin from the extreme
salinity of the water, the workers rub their skin with shea butter,
produced from shea nuts obtained from the Shea nut tree.
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