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Laguna Colorada |
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Borax covered lake (possibly Laguna Colorada) between
San Juan and Laguna Verde. Laguna Verde |
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Laguna Verde is the furthest point of the Uyuni Tour. It lies at a height of around 4800m (15700 feet) and exhibits a rather strange effect. Most of the time its surface reflects the mountains behind as it is very flat and an almost perfect mirror. However, occasionally, the reflected image is disturbed and replaced by beautiful opaque jade green water. I'm not sure where the floating foam pieces originate as an attempt to dissolve the borax deposited at the edges of the lake in the water of the lake failed. However, these floating lumps were continually being created so some sort of reaction involving the lake water and the borax must be taking place. They drifted generally to the right, dissolving in a small whirlpool at the right hand edge of the picture until the green effect started. When this occurs, closer inspection shows that the surface has a number of concentric stationary waves - I counted 13 of them - radiating from the middle of the central clear area in the above picture. This area slowly grows until the entire lake is reflection-free and this beautiful green colour. The lumps of borax foam, which normally drift from left to right circulate round these waves during this period. It is almost as if there was a plug at the bottom of the lake and somebody pulled it out to produce a coriolis affect in the draining water. The water level in the lake does not reduce, though, so it is probably just an effect of the wind passing between the two hills either side of the lake and rotating the water in the lake. A strange, intriguing place. |
