Photo Credit: AfricanHub
SENEGAL: Lake Retba, better known as Lac Rose (the Pink Lake), lies north of the Cape-Verde peninsula of Senegal, some 30km northeast of the capital, Dakar, in northeast Africa. It sits in a depression with a shoreline 6.5 metres below sea level.
The lake is isolated from the sea by about 1km of sand dunes. Its fresh water comes from the seasonal water table in the dunes, which are higher than the lake. It is named for its pink waters caused by Dunaliella Salina algae and is known for its high salt content.
The Pink Lake is one of the main tourist destinations in the Dakar region, primarily because of the pink colour of its waters. In addition to its visual appeal, Lake Retba also holds economic significance for local communities. The lake is a major site for salt harvesting, with salt miners manually extracting salt from the lake’s bed.
