All over the world there are landscapes that attract. Some are distinguished by their enormous beauty. In other cases, the attractiveness is related to the profound change in some of its characteristics. Changes that many people associate with apocalyptic phenomena. In reality, however, we are dealing with phenomena that are caused by nature, weather conditions or special circumstances.
The Burlinskoye Lake and its striking color change
Lake Burlinskoye in Siberia has a blood-red hue that turns old pink in places. The images captured by drones went viral on social networks, as many interpreted as a sign of the end of the world.
The residents of the place soon tried to reassure those predicting this event by explaining the phenomenon. This is produced every year for the summer season and it becomes a very important tourist attraction. The Altai region, in which the lake is located, benefits from this.
The solution of the unknown is very far from assumptions. The lake is inhabited by a kind of salty shrimp, the Artemia Salina. It secretes a pink pigment that becomes more intense in hot and dry weather conditions.
Under these climatic conditions, the lake develops a salt concentration of more than 250 grams per liter of water. Something very similar to concentration in the Dead Sea that prevents a person from getting involved.
That is why it is one of those landscapes that attract. Locals and tourists alike use these waters for medical purposes, although they have to wear shoes to avoid injuring their feet. The bottom of the lake has very sharp salt crystals that hurt those who venture into it.
Iran, Turkey, and the United States also have lakes where the same phenomenon is repeated
The same thing happens in other lakes in different countries. For example the lakes Tuz and Kucuk in Turkey, the Urmia in Iran and also Utah in the USA. In these cases, however, it is microalgae of the Dunaliella Salina family, which are responsible for the color of the water in summer.
During the rest of the year, the water in satellite images remains greenish. This is because the lakes receive the water of rain and thaw.
In summer the water level drops and this is when the salt concentration is highest. It is also the time when the algae multiply, which gives it its pink or red color. Characteristic that makes them attractive landscapes.
A natural disaster changed another landscape
A phenomenon also considered part of the Apocalypse recently appeared in several cities across the United States.
Large areas of the sky were colored orange. One of those places was the city of San Francisco. There were landscapes that looked like something out of a science fiction film. This was caused by forest fires that affect thousands of hectares of this land every year. They are a consequence of climate change.
These pictures will be remembered by everyone who has seen them. For their beauty, but also for the sadness that the fact that produced them created. Thousands of people lost their homes in the fires. Millions of hectares disappeared and thousands of ecosystems were destroyed.
