Lake Retba

{{Infobox body of water

|name = Lake Retba

| image = File:RetbaLakeShore.jpg

| caption = Lake shore

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| location = Cap Vert Peninsula

| coords = {{Coord|14|50|18.02|N|17|14|41.36|W|type:waterbody_region:SN|display=inline,title}}

| type = Hypersaline lake

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|pushpin_map=Senegal

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| basin_countries = Senegal

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| area = {{Convert|3|km2|sqmi|1|abbr=on}}

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| max-depth = {{convert|3|m|ft}}

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File:LacRoseSatellite.jpg

File:Lac Rose in Senegal.jpg

Lake Retba, also known as Lac Rose (meaning "pink lake"), lies north of the Cap Vert peninsula in Senegal, some {{cvt|35|km}} north-east of the capital, Dakar, in northwest Africa. It is named for its pink waters caused by Dunaliella salina algae and is known for its high salt content, up to 40% in some areas. Its colour is usually particularly strong from late January to early March, during the dry season. However, flooding in September 2022 not only disrupted salt harvesting activities on the lake, but also led the lake to lose its colour, causing a negative effect on tourism.

The lake is {{as of|lc=yes|2023}} under consideration by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Description

The lake is situated {{cvt|35|km}} north-east of Dakar, separated from the Atlantic Ocean only by a narrow corridor of dunes, and is named for its pink waters, which are caused by Dunaliella salina algae. The algae produce a red pigment to help them absorb sunlight, which gives them energy to create ATP, a nucleotide that is necessary to produce energy.{{cite web |author=|date=5 June 2012 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/06/05/lake-retba-senegal-giant-strawberry-milkshake_n_1570007.html |title=Lake Retba in Senegal Looks Like A Giant Strawberry Milkshake |website=HuffPost|location=UK|accessdate=2019-11-09}} The colour is particularly visible during the dry season (from November to May) and less visible during the rainy season (June to October).{{cite news |title=22 Epic Places You Didn't Know Existed |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/22-epic-places-you-didnt-know-existed_n_4151416 |accessdate=2019-11-09 |work=HuffPost |date=26 October 2013}}

Salt

The lake is known for its high salt content (up to 40% in some areas), which is mainly due to the ingress of seawater and its subsequent evaporation. Like the Dead Sea, the lake is sufficiently buoyant that people can float easily.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-23759547|title=How salt miners save Senegal's Pink Lake|date=19 August 2013|work=BBC News Online}}{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-retba |title=Lake Retba |publisher=Atlas Obscura |accessdate=2013-05-23}}

Salt is exported across the region by up to 3,000 collectors,{{cite web | title=Senegal's Lake Retba loses pink colour after flooding, putting livelihoods at risk | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation| date=3 February 2023 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-04/senegal-lake-retba-loses-pink-colour-after-flooding/101921790 | access-date=4 February 2023}} men and women from all over western Africa, who work 6–7 hours a day. They protect their skin with beurre de Karité (shea butter), an emollient produced from shea nuts which helps avoid tissue damage. The salt is used by Senegalese fishermen to preserve fish, which is an ingredient in many traditional recipes, including the national dish, which is a fish and rice combination called thieboudienne.{{cite web| url = http://kosmo.vivanews.com/news/read/327036-danau-pink--sensasi-wisata-apung-di-senegal| title= Danau Pink, Sensasi Wisata Apung di Senegal| first1 = Wuri | last1 = Handayani| first2 = Tasya|last2 = Paramitha| work = VIVAnews| date = 19 June 2012| language = id| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120814154952/http://us.life.viva.co.id/news/read/327036-danau-pink--sensasi-wisata-apung-di-senegal| archive-date = 2012-08-14| access-date = 19 June 2012}}{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303824204579423691350888338|title=Swim a Pink Lake in Senegal|first=Jody|last=Eddy|date=14 March 2014|work=The Wall Street Journal| url-access=subscription}} About 38,000 tonnes of salt are harvested from this lake each year, which contributes to Senegal's salt production industry. Senegal is the number-one producer of salt in Africa.{{cite web|last1=Kanoute|first1=Pape Tahirou| last2=Malan| first2=Christiane |last3=Stephane |first3=Fournier| last4=Teyssier|first4=Catherine|year=2018|title=Relevance of a Geographical Indication for Salt From Senegal's Pink Lake|url=http://www.fao.org/3/I7938EN/i7938en.pdf|location=Rome|publisher=FAO|pages=16pp}}

File:Lake Retba (Lac Rose), worker is digging the salt in the lake.jpg

Flooding

In 2022, severe flooding caused by torrential rains in Dakar devastated the lake. The floods breached its banks and contaminated its waters, turning its characteristic pink hue to green. This transformation threatens the ecosystem and economy of the area, impacting salt farmers, boatmen, souvenir vendors, and tourism. The flooding destroyed USD$696,000 worth of salt mounds, submerged businesses, and disrupted the lake's unique microbiome, jeopardizing future harvests and tourist visits.{{Cite web |last=Dione |first=Ngouda |date=January 24, 2023 |title=Life's no longer rosy at Senegal's Pink Lake after floods |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/lifes-no-longer-rosy-senegals-pink-lake-after-floods-2023-01-24/ |website=Reuters}}

Wildlife

Despite the high salinity of the lake, which can reach as high as 350 g/L during the dry season, blackchin tilapia have been found living in brackish sections fed fresh water by an intermittent creek.{{Cite journal |last1=Garnier |first1=J. M.|last2=Gaudant |first2=J.|date=1984|title=Occurrence of Sarotherodon melanotheron Rueppell (teleostean fish, Cichlidae) in hyperhaline waters of Retba lake (Senegal) [Tilapia hendelotii]|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Occurrence+of+Sarotherodon+melanotheron+Rueppell+%28teleostean+fish%2C+Cichlidae%29+in+hyperhaline+waters+of+Retba+lake+%28Senegal%29+%5BTilapia+hendelotii%5D&author=Garnier%2C+J.M.+%28Universite+de+Paris-11%2C+Orsay+%28France%29.+Laboratoire+d%27Hydrologie%29&publication_year=1984 |journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série III |language=French|issn=0249-6313}}{{Cite book|last1=Paugy|first1=Didier|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320991783|title=The Inland Water Fishes of Africa: Diversity, Ecology and Human Use|last2=Lévêque|first2=Christian|last3=Otero|first3=Olga|date=2017-11-10}}{{Citation|last1=Paugy|first1=Didier|title=Fish communities in small aquatic ecosystems: caves, gueltas, crater and salt lakes|date=2017|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.4000/books.irdeditions.25253|work=The inland water fishes of Africa| pages=397–415 |publisher=IRD Éditions |access-date=2022-02-04| last2=Levêque| first2=Christian| doi=10.4000/books.irdeditions.25253|isbn=9782709924009}}

World heritage listing

Lake Retba has been under consideration by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since October 2005,{{cite web | title=Le Lac Rose | website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|lang=fr | url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/2080/ | access-date=4 February 2023}} and remains so {{as of|lc=yes|2023}}.

Motorsport

The lake was often the finishing point of the Dakar Rally, before the rally moved to South America in 2009.

In 2021, it hosted a round of the Extreme E electric off-road racing series.{{cn|date=February 2023}}

References

External links

[http://www.lakeretba.com Lake Retba]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmPMhTzMQc8&list=PLzGHKb8i9vTzaW8FXpQuLYHQOkP2wjXv0 Senegal’s Pink Lake]. Al Jazeera English, October 2021 (video, 46 mins)

Category:Lakes of Senegal

Category:Saline lakes of Africa