Ultra-Salty Lake Koyashskoye Is So Pink, It Looks Like Another Planet

It may look like another planet, but don't be fooled. This is Koyashskoye Salt Lake, a saline lake in Crimea. Its color turns from dusty pink in spring to bright reddish tones in summer, thanks to the presence of microscopic algae and brine shrimp. In dry weather, the sun evaporates much of the water to reveal blazingly bright crystals and boulders covered in salt crusts for a panorama so breathtaking, it's almost extraterrestrial.

Koyashskoye Salt Lake is popular with locals but little-known in tourist circles, The Daily Mail reports. The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning for parts of Eastern Ukraine earlier this year, and while the lake is outside those areas, it's probably best to view it from a (digital) distance until political tensions in the area settle down. Visitors who do travel to the lake can arrive via bus from Kerch, a city near the Black Sea that's one of the oldest in the area. While walking along the coast, this view suddenly pops up from the deserted landscape. Whoa.

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