How did the Blue Lake turn brown?

Factors such as water depth and how the nearby land is used also matter. Lake color depends in part, too, on what's in the water. Compared with blue lakes, green or brown lakes have more algae, suspended sediment and organic matter. That's according to Xiao Yang.



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Shifts in lake water color can indicate a loss of ecosystem health. While substances such as algae and sediments can affect the color of lakes, the new study finds air temperature, precipitation, lake depth and elevation also play important roles in determining a lake's most common water color.

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Why is Blue Lake so clean? Scientists attribute the lake water's clarity to its passage underground from Lake Constance, which filters out nearly all the particles suspended in the water. Its clarity reveals water's natural blue-violet colour.

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Marine and freshwater beaches, lakes, rivers, and ponds can be contaminated with a number of things. Bacteria, chemicals, and other pollutants from sewage bypasses, combined sewer overflows, human and animal feces, urban runoff – can all pollute and contaminate waterways.

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Blue Lake Regional Park It provides many wonderful opportunities for boating, fishing and swimming, and makes a beautiful backdrop for hundreds of family picnics, community events and special programs throughout the year.

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Water can also appear murky due to the presence of planktonic algae, which are microscopic organisms that create visually dense blooms on the water's surface. Planktonic algae are known to appear in blue, green, brown, and red colors, which are most apparent around the shoreline.

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In those “hypersaline” lakes, a “green” alga called Dunaliella salina turns them red. Dunaliella has a red pigment called B-carotene that masks the “green” of its chlorophyll.

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As the lake dries out, its salinity increases. The warm water's high salt concentration makes what's left of the lake a prime breeding ground for Dunaliella algae, which can turn the water blood-red.

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