February 26th, 2020

Laguna Colorada (Red Lagoon) is a shallow salt lake in the southwest of the altiplano of Bolivia, within Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve and close to the border with Chile.

The lake contains borax islands, whose white color contrasts with the reddish color of its waters, which is caused by red sediments and pigmentation of some algae.

Flamingos are drawn to the lake thanks to its abundant supply of plankton. Three of the world’s six species of flamingo can be found here: the Chilean, Andean and the James’ Flamingo. That last one is incredibly rare – the species is only found in the high Andean plateaus and was thought to be extinct until a small population was rediscovered in 1956. Curiously, the flamingos are naturally white; they look pink because the red algae stains their feathers.