TerravelAustralia · Oceania
Lake Hillier
A slender strip of sand holds back the ocean from a lake the color of rose petals, hidden among Western Australia's remote islands.
Lake Hillier sits on Middle Island within the Recherche Archipelago, a scattered collection of islands and islets off Western Australia's southern coast. A gossamer thread of shore—impossibly thin and long—separates this saline lake from the churning Southern Ocean beyond, creating one of nature's most delicate boundaries.
The lake's signature pink hue makes it unmistakable from above, a rosy jewel set into windswept landscape. Located in the Goldfields-Esperance region, this remote sanctuary remains largely untouched, accessible only to those who venture far from the mainland's familiar waters.
The pink coloration likely results from salt-loving algae and carotenoid pigments produced by microorganisms thriving in the lake's extreme salinity.
Test yourself
Which remote island lake in Oceania glows pink from salt-loving microorganisms and sits separated from the ocean by a thread-thin strip of land?
Lake Hillier on Middle Island, Australia, is famous for its distinctive pink color caused by carotenoid-producing halophilic microorganisms in its hypersaline waters, and features an unusually narrow natural barrier between the lake and the Southern Ocean.
Can you place today's?
Lake Hillier is one of 266 places in Terravel. A new one every morning.