With over 3 million lakes in the world there is an abundance of beautiful places to travel for the spirited adventurer. That being said with 3 million lakes its hard to find one that stands out among the rest. If you are looking for a more unique lake setting to see consider some of the worlds most unusual lakes. From a lake in Thailand filled with millions of non-toxic jellyfish to a lake that is constantly boiling in the West Indies these are the most unusual lakes in the world for good reason. Some of these would be incredible to see.
1. Jellyfish Lake, Palau, Thailand.
See what it’s like swimming with millions of non stinging jellyfish:
2. Lake Hillier is a pink colored lake on Middle Island in Australia. It’s striking color is due to an overwhelming presence of algae that produces carotenoids resulting in a flamingo pink hue.
Get a better look at the lake with this video of a guy flying over the lake in a wing suit here.
3. Laguna Colorada, Bolivia. This lake gets its beautiful amber/burgundy hue from plankton, red algae and other microorganisms. It is a 23 square mile body of water.
4. The Boiling Lake in Dominica, The West Indies. This lake is at a constant rolling boil and nobody is completely sure why. It is too hot to do in-depth testing. Scientists believe that it is a flooded “vent” that leads directly to magma beneath.
5. Lake Manicouagan, Canada. This lake was formed over 200 million years ago and is the only one like it in the world. It is a concentric ring that was formed by a 3.1 mile in diameter asteroid slamming into the earth. This has created what appears to be the worlds only concentric river. The island in the middle is larger than the body of water itself.
6. La Brea Pitch Lake, Trinidad. This body is made up of over 10 million tons of liquid asphalt spanning a 100 acre area. The lake is the largest natural deposit of pitch in the world.
7. Medicine Lake, Canada. This may look like a normal lake but it is far from that. What makes this lake so special is that in the winter the lake completely disappears. There is a series of sinkholes that take the water on a 10 mile journey underground in one of the largest most inaccessible places on earth. After about 10 miles the water reappears in Maligne Canyon. Over 4,000 gallons drain every single second and this phenomenon still takes weeks!
8. The Dead Sea, Israel/Jordan. This amazing body of water is almost 10 times saltier than any other body of water in the world. This lake is said to have healing powers for skin and joints and at 1,486 feet below sea level it is the lowest place on earth. Travelers come from all corners of the world to float on its magical surface.
9. Not the Dead Sea but the very salty waters of Lake Tus in Russia’s Khakassia region. This lake has dark black and blue sediment creating a thick mud. This mud is also said to have healing properties and people travel from all over Russia to cover themselves with the mud.
10. Lake Natron, Rift Valley, Tanzania. This mysterious lake literally turns animals into stone. Countless numbers of birds have been discovered around the lake completely petrified. This forbidding lake reaches temperatures of 140 degrees. Scientists think that the surface is so shiny birds cannot gauge the distance and fly right into it becoming petrified for eternity.
11. Lake Mckenzie, Australia is located on Frasier island, a 75 mile sand bar in the Coral sea. This 370 acre lake is completely fed with rainwater from the clouds. Because of this it is too acidic to sustain aquatic life, plants or animals making this a beautifully crystal clear fresh water lake.
12. Dusty Rose Lake, Canada. This lake in British Columbia gets its rosy hue from the particulates in the snow from the glacial melt. The sediment and rocks the water passes over are a pink, purple and lavender color giving the water its distinct color.
13. Lake Nyos, Cameroon. This lake was once an incredibly deadly site and in 1986 caused one of the largest and strangest natural disasters in recorded history when the lake blew up. This sent a plume of water over 300 feet into the air and a small tsunami to the lakes shores. The killer was a toxic cloud of carbon dioxide that suffocated 1746 people in three days. Scientists have routed special pipes that reroute the gasses to be released safely.
These are some amazing places and growing up spending most of my free time on lakes I would love to see these in person. The boiling lake, the petrifying lake and the exploding lake may not make it on my list but they sure are fascinating. These lakes are truly unique said to have magical powers. I don’t know about all that but I’d still like to find out for myself.