"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
05/18/2015 at 17:44 • Filed to: None
0
16|
"Rainbow" (rainbeaux)
05/18/2015 at 17:44 • Filed to: None | 0
| 16 |
So I’m just poking around Google Maps, when suddenly there’s a big puddle of blood in the middle of the desert in China. There are other normal lakes around this one which are not red, so.... what’s the deal?
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.81123…
Everett Jiang
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 17:46 |
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It could be due to less rain in the region, that the lake is slowly shrinking in size creating a saturated solution of probably iron oxide in water.
66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 17:48 |
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I’m not gonna lie, I’m more confused at how you found that while “poking around”....
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Rainbow
> Everett Jiang
05/18/2015 at 17:49 |
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It’s weird that the nearby lakes are dark blue and surrounded by greenery, though. Maybe this one just has loose sand underneath and it’s actually draining/filtering itself out.
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Rainbow
> 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
05/18/2015 at 17:50 |
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I was looking at North Korea’s borders, then swung over and noticed some spots in the sand... zoomed in and they were lakes, and I may have looked at like ten of them up close before I found anything interesting... I’m really bored.
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66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 17:51 |
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Dude.... Go outside or something...
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Everett Jiang
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 17:54 |
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It might also be due to the elevation where the lake we are talking about is at a higher topography above the water aquifer’s current level.
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Rainbow
> 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
05/18/2015 at 17:58 |
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It’s raining and I have to leave for work in half an hour. No time to actually do anything productive. :/
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66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 17:59 |
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Ah ok I’ll let this one slide...
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Rainbow
> 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
05/18/2015 at 18:06 |
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Also I just found Woodstock from Peanuts. https://www.google.com/maps/@-15.3626…
RallyWrench
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 18:09 |
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Are there any mines nearby? Could it be a tailing pond?
desertdog5051
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 18:09 |
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Most likely caused by incursions of color producing bacteria. This happens mostly when there is a low level of oxygen. Or pollution. The Yangtze river turned red a few years ago. It was pollution.
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66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 18:10 |
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I’m actually sort of impressed, still disturbed a bit, but impressed none the less!
Slant6
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 18:31 |
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It’s technically still communist.
Milky
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 19:00 |
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If you havent seen this, have fun.
415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 19:04 |
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It’s just a concentration, it seems to be draining, pretty normal, that is a serious desert.
RPM esq.
> Rainbow
05/18/2015 at 19:25 |
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Short answer: the lakes are drying up and turning salty. See
NASA images here
and a paper on the drying
phenomenon here
. When lakes in arid areas go dry, the minerals and salts are concentrated. There are bacteria and algae that thrive in these conditions and they often turn these pools pink and red. Here’s an explanation for
pink and red lakes in California
, but it occurs all over the world. Lake Urmia in Iran famously turned red a few years ago. Here is red bacteria in salt crust at Owens Lake in California:
Looking around the area of Inner Mongolia you identified, and Panoramio images thereof, there are several lakes where the lowest parts are a similar pink or red color.
