For a few years they used to extract salt from the lake but nowadays it is only used for tourism purposes. The water of the lake is otherwise clear and it causes no harm to the human skin and the Dunaliella salina alga is completely harmless as well. In fact, swimming in the lake’s water is safe and fun but impossible to do for normal tourists as the lake can’t be visited. From a distance, Lake Hillier of Australia's Recherche Archipelago looks like a swath of solid bubble-gum pink. Draw closer, and the color takes on a more watery, translucent quality, but remains unmistakably pink.