The Miracle of the Absheron Peninsula: Why is the colour of Masazir lake pink?

Plunging into the history discovery of any country we always are interested in the opening of more and more amazing wonders. Azerbaijan is also a pleasing topic of research – during  cognizing the glory of discovered miracles, there are appearing new others. And that is why it is quite easy to explain the fact that Azerbaijan is an unending source of the nature’s handiwork.

It seems to everyone who has ever been the guests in one of the cradles of humanity – Gobustan, who has ever flown above serrated chains of blue-grey Gabala mountains of the Lesser and Greater Caucasus, who has ever tasted a fresh-out of the tandir choreck tantalizing with its scent in Icheri-Sheher – Old City of Baku, who has ever ridden a horse through the stone covered paths in Khinalig – a mountain village on the height of more than two thousand metres above sea level that there is nothing what can amaze. But Masazir lake opens to a look and dispels all doubts.

Masazir lake is a unique lake with the square of ten square kilometres. The colour of the lake spills majestically with bright, from agate-brown to coral-pink shades at different times during the year. It becomes attired in peachy pink in the end of spring and till the end of October. Due to the fact that Masazir lake is rich with sulphates and chlorides it is an obvious true that salt is mined here in a big amount.

The pink colour of Masazir lake is explained by an endless number of microscopic single-cell organisms inhabiting in lake’s waters and salt crust. This is the bacterium named “halophiles” – “salt amateurs” which becomes the reason of this biological phenomenon. Another reason of pink colour of salt chunks reminding snowy icebergs is iodine existence. There are only nine pink lakes throughout the world – and it is so nice to know that one of them is located in Azerbaijan!

Tags: baku , gabala , Azerbaijan , Gobustan , Greater Caucasus , Old City , Masazir Lake