Why is Lake Bursol in Altai pink?
The pink salt lake, along the bottom of which there are rails and a special train, is not a dream or a fantasy, it is a real body of water in Altai Krai.
Lake nearby village of Bursol It's truly pink, but not always, most often in August, during sunny, hot weather. The higher the air and water temperatures, the more intense the color. Furthermore, a special train with a steam locomotive periodically passes right across the lake, and not just any train, but on rails. What's so special? Let's find out.
Lake Burlinskoye is popularly known as Bursol. It's shallow: just 40 cm deep in summer, but depending on the season and precipitation, it can reach a maximum depth of 2 meters. Its area, in contrast to its depth, is quite large—32 square kilometers.
The lake's water has a bitter, salty taste, and in hot weather, when it dries up, the salt concentration becomes higher than that of the Dead Sea. In 1762, salt mining began here, and it proved to be of such high quality that it was supplied to the Tsar's table. For this reason, the lake was popularly called the "Tsar's Salt Shaker" or the "Salt Shaker of the Russian Empire." It is also popularly known as "Bursol," the same name given to the village where the salt miners settled.
Despite the horrendous salt concentration, tiny crustaceans—Artemia salina and the algae Dunaliella salina—live in the water. The former feed on the latter. The lake also harbors colonies of ancient haloarchaea microorganisms. Their cells contain carotenoids, specifically pink bacterioruberin and purple (or violet) bacteriorhodopsin, which give the water its distinctive hue. In some places, the pink water turns orange—this is precisely because of the Dunaliella salina algae, which grows rapidly in colonies.
Another remarkable thing is the train, which appears to be moving through the water. It's a self-propelled salt harvester with four container cars. Officially, it's a BSK-100 salt harvester with an electric generator. Salt mining in this reservoir continues, carried out by the Altai Salt Mining Company. Due to the shallow depth, the rails run directly along the bottom, so the water doesn't interfere with the train's progress. The salt layers contain up to 20% silt, so a dark trail is left behind the salt harvester as it moves. As the salt reserves are depleted, the rails are moved to a new location. At the former mining site, salt reserves are replenished within eight years. Salt miners still live in the village of Bursol, where entire dynasties can be found.
This unique place is naturally popular with tourists, but it's only worth a visit for those who can make do with the bare essentials. These include a freshwater hose on the shore, where you can rinse off the salt from your feet, and a shower. Rinse your feet. this year It costs 30 rubles to get in, 100 rubles to take a shower, and 20 rubles to go to the restroom. It's entirely possible, and that's perfectly reasonable—you just need to admire this lake, forgetting about civilization.
