Lake Retba (Pink Lake)

 lake, interesting place

At some 20 miles from Dakar, the Pink Lake ('Lac Rose' in French, 'Retba' in Wolof) is a major attraction for tourists. It is shallow, warm and surrounded by white foam. Everything floats on it, because of its very high salinity. During the week, men and mostly women are busy crushing the bottom of the lake, which consists of a thick crust of salt that they gather to sell. Sand dunes, a baobab forest and traditional villages with thatch-roofed huts surround the Pink Lake also called Retba. The site is in
the middle of the 'garden belt' outside Dakar, which produces huge quantities flowers and vegetables for domestic consumption and export. Men farm the gardens, but women control the sale at all level, except the export. The lake is particularly spectacular at dawn and dusk. Feldspar deposits reflecting the sunlight through the salty waters produce the unique vibrant pink color. The lake is the remains of a fossil sea that once occupied all of Sénégal. For a long time, the local Wolof villagers thought that it was a haunted place at night. However, they never seriously thought about moving, because the salt extracted from the lake is a vital source of income. Women are the salters, men the wholesalers and transporters.

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