NO SWIMMING IN SENEGAL’S PINK LAKE- LAKE RETBA
Lake Retba is one of the 41 pink lakes in the word and the only exiting one in Africa. It’s also known as Lac Rose(the pink lake). Lac Rose is located on the north of the Cap-Vert peninsula in Senegal. It is about 35km from the capital, Dakar, in northwest Africa. The Pink Lake is one of the main tourist destinations in Dakar region, primarily because of its pink colour.
BRIEF HISTORY
Lake Retba was originally a fresh water lake up until the 1980s when drought caused a change in the composition of the water and allowed people to start harvesting the salt.
WHY IS THE LAKE PINK?
The pigmentation of the lake is from a combination of high salt content and the presence of salt-tolerant algae, Dunaliella salina. This algae produces at least four antioxidant pigments such as carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin and astaxanthin. These organic pigments are rich in vitamins and they contribute to the pink and red coloration observed in the lake. The algae only get to thrive when salinity is high. This means when there’s lowness in salinity alongside other factors (temperature, presence of microorganisms etc.), it causes fluctuation in the lake’s pink colour.
Lake Retba colour is particularly strong from late January to March, during dry season. Other times apart from this, the lake is mostly in an ochre colour. Whenever the sun hits the water at a certain time of the day, its surface looks like a mirror.
A great floating experience
The salinity of the lake prevents swimming, and only enable people to float, leaving them with awesome experiences. Most tourist miss the opportunity of seeing the lake pink, during their visits due to the timing,but they don’t miss the opportunity of exploring the lake and its vicinity. They get to ask the workers and traders the procedures of extracting salt from the lake, and take great pictures.
LAKE RETBA SALT
The lake has approximately 40% salinity, which is superior to that of the Dead Sea. Extraction of the salt is very labour intensive and is usually done by men. As a result of the level of salinity, they cover themselves in shea butter to protect their skin from corrosive water. The salt is collected with shovels or by diving and taking it by hand. The harvest is ferried back to shore on a pirogue(traditional boat), where women wait to carry it to drying piles by the lakeside. The Pink lake salt is traditionally used by Senegalese fishermen to preserve fish, but it’s also sold to nearby African countries such as Gambia, Guinea, Mali and Benin. This makes Senegal the number one producer of salt in Africa.
Unfortunately, the lake has become over exploited, and its output is about 40,000 to 50,000 tons per year. An incredible threat is posed to the biodiversity of this unique environment. In order to protect the lake’s ecosystem, a rest in post production has to be imposed by their authorities.