Yuncheng Salt Lake is loaded with salt-tolerant algae that react to the mineral, producing a beautiful spectrum of color.
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China ’s Yuncheng Salt Lake may often be called China ’s Dead Sea , but it ’s scarcely null of life — nor , in fact , is it a sea . The lake is awash in technicolor hues of purple , bright blue , green , and bright deep red in hot weather . With the heat and increase light , the saltwater incubates chemical reactions between mineral and organisms , creating a fantastic palette of people of color in the process .
From above , the color resemble a vibrantly piece - together quilt divided by thin , hoar lines of table salt ridges and roadway . Though its looker is evident , it ’s not the main reason that China has a special relationship with the Yuncheng Salt Lake — also known as Xiechi Lake . For locals , the lake is remarkable for the saltiness it produces .
Yuncheng Salt Lake is a world-renowned inland salt lake known as the “Dead Sea of China”.
China is the world ’s with child manufacturer of salinity at 48 million tons per year . History reports that wars ensued over self-command of the salt lake and nearby tabernacle are dedicated to table salt God — though locals these days are more tending to visit the brilliantly — colored , creative person ’s palette of a lake .
Learn the history and see the wonders of Yuncheng Salt Lake below and in the drift above .
The Science Behind Yuncheng Salt Lake
colours like Battle of Magenta , violet , and yellow appear in Yuncheng Salt Lake due to a unique species of micro - algae calledDunaliella salinathat creates algal blooms . ordinarily , these present as green in the water system . However , the blooms are actually a huge accumulation of alga with protective carotenoids — industrial plant pigments — brought out by the environs . All this occurs on the cellular level inside the algae .
D. salinais the most salt - tolerant organism , so it ’s no surprisal you’re able to receive it in salt lake throughout the world . Its pigment are so acute , manufacturers apply them as coloring in food for thought additive and cosmetic .
Furthermore , like the Dead Sea , Yuncheng contains many minerals count to be good for the skin .
Unlike the Dead Sea , however , Yuncheng Salt Lake is full of sulphate that support life history . The chloride in the Dead Sea is fairly hostile to lifespan forms of any kind .
Xinhua / Zhan Yan via Getty ImagesMirabilite rime is formed when mirabilite crystallise at a low temperature .
Winter Crystals
Just as the heating system is partially responsible for the colorful micro - algae flower , winter has its own cool fast one . When the temperatures drop off , Yuncheng Salt Lake forms crystals on its Earth’s surface . They are call mirabilite and can resemble blossom flowers or intricate crystal tower .
Mirabilite frost is formed when Mg sulfate crystallizes and can be semitransparent or sometimes spook of pinko . The Chinese sometimesrefer to itas the " salt flowers bloom . "
This only happen when temperatures are under 23 degrees Fahrenheit ( -5 degrees Celsius ) , so while it does n’t materialise every year , it ’s a beautiful phenomenon when it does .
The History Of Salt Collecting At Yuncheng
Yuncheng Salt Lake formed roughly 500 million years ago , and locals have harvested its salinity for at least the last 4,000 years . Over 1,000 year ago , the ancient Chinesehoned a five - tone output methodof creating edible salt . This honored patronage had been passed down from schoolmaster to prentice for generations .
In this method acting , lake water went through a serial publication of steps include sunbathing , filtering , storage , crystallization , and finally shovel — all done by bridge player . However , by the 1980s , this metre - honored traditional method come up to a halt . The forcible toll on laborers became too high and there was a want of learner uncoerced to learn the craftiness .
Though the Chinese empty their artisanal process for salt production , it is a custom that spill light on the importance of the mineral and its preparation . The traditional five - step common salt production methodwas includedin the national intangible cultural inheritance list in 2014 .
U.S. Gov / FlickrAlgae so thick it is creating a dead zona .
Dead Zones
alas , algal blossom in Yuncheng Salt Lake can result in what ’s called a bushed zona . As the alga go on to bloom and multiply , other aliveness chassis become nutrient insufficient and cash in one’s chips . In turn , when these life forms decline , it deplete the water ’s oxygen supplying .
Algal blooms on the water system ’s airfoil also prevent the absorption of oxygen to being last beneath them . With both reduce sunlight and O , fish , aquatic insects — even seagrasses suffer immensely .
While many algal bloomsare considered toxicto people , the ecologic study ofD. salinain particular issomewhat neglected .
The algal blooming usually die not long after they appear ; the ecosystem simply can not support them for long period . But when they die off , that does n’t mean they ’ll be proceed for long . " Some of [ the increment in flower ] can be attributed to global climate change,“saidTimothy Davis , a research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Michigan .
As the climate go on to change , the futurity of Yuncheng Salt Lake will surely change along with it . Nevertheless , it ’s sure to continue one of the most fascinatingly unique bodies on body of water on planet Earth .
Next , take about India’sRoopkund Lake , where skeletons ofttimes lave ashore . Then , explore the turquoise wonders of Russia’sLake Baikal .
Xinhua/Zhan Yan via Getty ImagesMirabilite rime is formed when mirabilite crystallizes at a low temperature.
U.S. Gov/FlickrAlgae so thick it is creating a dead zone.
