This might look like the surface of some distant planet, but Spotted Lake is much closer to home. Just north of the US border in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada, the lake"s strange coloration is due to its high concentrations of mineral deposits. It"s a protected cultural site of the Syilx/Okanagan Nation for its healing properties. Spotted Lake is an endorheic lake, which is a basin where water collects but has no river or sea to drain into. The water level rises with rainfall during autumn and winter, but when the days grow hotter and drier in the summertime, the water evaporates and the surface of the lake lowers. It"s during these hot, dry summers in the Okanagan when Spotted Lake earns its name—large "spots" in varying hues of blue, green, or yellow become more prominent as the water level drops. The area"s closed to the public, but you can get a decent view from the highway. Binoculars recommended.
Spotted Lake emerges
Today in History
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First Cliff Walk
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Iceberg off the coast of Antarctica
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Mack Arch Rock
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Notes from an underground lake
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And they’re off!
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El Valle de la Luna, Chile
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Ringing in the new year at Teotihuacan
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Here we mark the price of freedom
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Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in Brazil
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Satla marshland in Bangladesh
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Deep in the North Woods wetlands
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How lovely are your branches
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Nature Photography Day
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Celebrating World Art Day
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Halo around the sun
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Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
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A step toward freedom
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It s Bermuda s big day
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Carnival of Venice
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Of balloons and lost pantaloons
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Traveling warblers
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The ‘Living Forest’ in Biscay, Spain
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Beech trees and wild anemones, Jutland, Denmark
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Icelandic horses, Iceland
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Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico
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Schönbrunn Palace Park, Vienna, Austria
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Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park
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It s aboat time for the Barcolana
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A garden of prickly delights
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The most Instagrammable bird?