Which African country is home to the pink Lake Retba?

Senegal is home to the pink Lake Retba, also known as Lac Rose.

Lake Retba lies northeast of Dakar, near Senegal’s Atlantic coast. Its striking pink or reddish colour is associated with the salt-loving microorganism Dunaliella salina, whose pigments help it absorb sunlight. The colour is usually strongest during the dry season, when evaporation raises the lake’s salinity.

The lake can become extremely salty—up to about 40 percent in some areas—making it buoyant enough for people to float easily. Salt harvesting is a major local activity. Workers gather salt from the shallow lakebed, load it into boats and pile it along the shore to dry before it is used domestically or traded across the region.

The colour is not permanent or equally vivid every day. Seasonal rain and flooding can dilute the lake and alter its appearance, so photographs may show very different shades. Lake Retba was also famous as the former finishing point of the Dakar Rally, before the event moved from Africa in 2009.