Fly over Western Australia for a rare visual treat: nestled among dense¹ emerald-green woodlands surrounded by the deep blue of the Southern Ocean are a series of lakes in a shocking shade of bubblegum pink.

为了去寻求一个珍稀的视觉盛宴，飞越西澳大利亚：深藏在浓密的祖母绿树林里，被深蓝色的南大洋半包围着的是一片口香糖粉色的湖群。

One of the most well known is Lake Hillier, a 600m-long lake on the edge of Middle Island in the Recherche² Archipelago off Western Australia’s south coast. Surrounded by a thin ring of sand and an expansive forest of paperbark and eucalyptus³ trees, the rosy⁴ pink lake punctuates⁵ a stunning⁶ landscape.

其中最著名的是长达600米的希利尔湖，它位于西澳南海岸边的勒谢什群岛中的一座——中央岛边缘。这片玫瑰粉色的湖泊被细细的环形沙和大片千层树和桉树所包围，其景相当壮观。

But even more surprising than its Pepto-Bismol shade is that “nobody seems to be able to definitively⁷ explain its distinctive⁸ colour,” according to Quora user Garrick Saito. Possible causes include the presence of green algae⁹ that can accumulate high levels of beta-carotene, a red-orange pigment¹⁰; haloarchaea, a type of microorganism that appears reddish in large blooms; or a high concentration of pink brine prawn¹¹.

Quora用户加里克•萨伊托说，然而比它那佩托比斯摩（Pepto-Bismol，美国一种粉红包装药物品牌）外形更令人诧异的是“几乎没有人能解释那独一无二的粉色湖水成因。”可能的原因有：湖水中的绿藻含大量β胡萝卜素，这种胡萝卜素有橘红色染色功能；一种只要大量聚集就能呈现红色的微生物；或是大量聚集的粉红色盐水虾。

Most tourists admire the chromatic¹² splendour of Lake Hillier from a helicopter or plane ride. For on-the-ground visitors, there’s an added treat: Lake Hillier is highly saline but the water isn't toxic¹³, so pack your swimsuit and go for a swim. Thanks to its high salinity¹⁴, you’ll bob like a cork¹⁵.

大多数乘直升机或客机鸟瞰希利尔湖的游客都对它那独一无二的色彩赞不绝口。而对于在陆上的游客，希利尔湖则另有一番风情：希利尔湖虽然含盐度极高，但湖水并没有毒，因此赶紧带上你的泳装，来游泳吧。由于它的高盐度，你能轻松地浮在水面。