Why are alpine lakes so blue?

Fine particles of pulverized rock absorb and scatter sunlight in ways that can give water a striking blue-green color.



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Clear alpine lakes have low concentrations of suspended sediment and turbidity which can be caused by a lack of erosion in the watershed. Glacier-fed lakes have much higher suspended sediment concentrations and turbidity due to inflow of glacial flour, resulting in opaqueness and a bright blue or brown color.

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The lakes in the mountains that have vivid blue and green colours are glacier fed. As the melt water from a glacier starts to flow in the spring time it carries with it glacier silt or rock flour. The silt is created when rocks underneath the surface of the ice are grinding from the movement of the glacier.

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Where is the most turquoise water in the USA?
  • Blue Hole – Santa Rosa, New Mexico.
  • Chena Hot Springs – Fairbanks, Alaska.
  • Las Olas Beach – Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
  • Grand Lake – Grand Lake Colorado.
  • La Jolla Cove – San Diego, California.
  • Sail Bay – San Diego, California.
  • Lake Conway – Edgewood, Florida.


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And shockingly the water doesn't have to be THAT cold to experience symptoms. So next time you wanna dive into that deep alpine lake water, think twice. Either wear a life-vest (they make compact blow up life vests now, so they're easy to pack). Or wade in from the beach.

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Yellowstone Lake is one of the great alpine lakes of the United States and the largest freshwater lake, about 7,100 in North America.

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And that includes Schoolhouse Beach on Washington Island, Wisconsin, which ranked No. 1 for clearest water in the U.S.

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1. Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada: The Clearest Lake in the United States. Lake Tahoe is the clearest lake in the United States.

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An Invasive Species in Lake Michigan. Invasive zebra mussels are mostly responsible for the increased clarity of Lake Michigan.

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