O Lan Lake- 'Heart of the Earth'

Tengger is a desert located at the southern edge of the Gobi Desert. Tengger Desert is China's fourth largest desert with an area of ​​42,700 square kilometers. In this desert, sand dunes, mountains, lakes and plains are interwoven. In which, sand dunes account for 71% of the area, mainly mobile sand dunes, with an altitude of about 10-20m.

Special "heart" in the desert

Deep in the Tengger Desert, there is a "Heart of the Earth" hidden.

The sand dunes here are often crescent-shaped, one after another. The sand is very fine and has a beautiful golden color. The Tengger Desert has long been a popular tourist destination. Not only because of its beautiful terrain, the Tengeger desert is also known because it is the place where people find the "heart of the Earth". That is O Lan Lake. But why is it so named?

In Mongolian, "Wulan" means red. O Lan Lake exudes an irresistible charm thanks to its special color. O Lan lake water is bright red mixed with white. This dot inadvertently makes the lake surface look very similar to blood vessels. With such color of lake water, along with the shape similar to a heart, O Lan Lake is known as the "heart of the Earth".

O Lan Lake has a very special brilliant red color.

According to scientists, the reason why O Lan Lake has such a special red color is due to 3 reasons:

1. One is low-lying terrain. In the desert environment, the low and closed terrain is very conducive to the accumulation of surface water and groundwater. Because the Tengger desert has a low-lying terrain, there are so many lakes.
2. The second is due to the arid climate. Low rainfall and high evaporation are important factors in the formation of salt lakes similar to O Lan Lake.
3. The third is due to 3 types of microorganisms present in the lake water. They are Artemia, Dunaliella salina and halophilic bacteria, their active ingredients such as astaxanthin, carotenoids, etc. have "dyed" the lake water into such a red color. In addition, Olan Lake has a high concentration of salts and metals. The salt forms long white strips running across the lake.

O Lan Lake has a red and white color due to the influence of microorganisms and metal ores and high salt concentration.

The color of the water of O Lan Lake often changes with the seasons. In summer, when there is more rainfall in the desert, the water level is higher so the lake water will turn pink. When it comes to autumn, the rainfall is less and the water level in the lake decreases, making the lake water even redder.

According to local people, O Lan Lake is more than 2 meters deep. The best time to visit the lake is from July to September. At this time, the weather is sunny, around the lake are green mountains, grass stretches to the eyes, under the sun, the color of the lake. O Lan will be more brilliant.

From July to September is the time when O Lan Lake has the most beautiful color.

Due to climatic conditions, the Tengger Desert has more than 400 large and small lakes. Despite the large number of lakes, salt lakes similar to O Lan Lake are indeed rare. And in fact, O Lan Lake is a collection of 1 large lake and some small lakes scattered around.

O Lan Lake is an inland saltwater lake with a history of up to 100 years. It began to dry up gradually in 1995. Before drying up, it covered an area of ​​175 square kilometers and was the 12th largest lake in Mongolia.

O Lan Lake is now famous and attracts more people because of its special appearance. (Photo: Baidu)

With its strange beauty, O Lan Lake is currently a tourist attraction attracting many tourists to visit. However, scientists recommend tourists not to bathe in O Lan Lake because the alkalinity in the water here is too high.