ALTAI, SEPT 29 – Lake Burlinskoye, a salt lake located in the Altai region of Russia, near the Kazakhstan border, is famous for its pink color in summer and the cargo trains that pass through it every day.
Citing reports Oddity CentralLake Burlinskoye is the largest single salt deposit in Siberia, with salinity levels rivaling the Dead Sea.
This very high level of salinity attracts a type of microscopic saltwater shrimp called Artemia salina which, as they breed, eventually turn the lake bright pink in the summer months.
The pink Siberian lake is strange enough as a sight, but what really sets Burlinskoye apart from other lakes is the freight train that crosses it several times a day.
The train passing directly through Burlinskoye appeared to be floating on pink water, but even with its high salinity, the lake could not possibly have floated such a large load of metal.
Actually, the train runs on metal tracks built across the lake during the Soviet era for a very specific purpose.
It doesn’t just go through the middle of the lake because it’s the shortest route or because it looks attractive, but it also collects valuable salt as it passes.
According to tourist photographer, Vadim Makhorov, the ‘Salt Shaker’ train is equipped with a special device to disturb the lake bed and gather sediment into the train carriage.
The train crosses the lake several times a day and collects around 65,000 tons of salt each year, enough to feed the entire human population for 3 or 4 days.
“They literally scrubbed the bottom of the lake and brought a mixture of salt and silt into the train that went into the water along the track,” Makhorov said. “When you see it for the first time, it looks so strange!”
The process of collecting salt at Lake Burlinskoye dates back to the mid-18th century, with some Russian royalty, such as Catherine the Great, only allowing salt from the lake to be served at her dinner table.
The Soviets then mechanized the process, building a railway across the middle of the lake, where the salt concentration was highest. – Agency
