2. Las Coloradas, Mexico
Part of an industrial salt production complex, the pink lakes of Las Coloradas in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula unintentionally produced one of the most often photographed natural events in North America. Stretching across the shore, these large salt ponds produce a patchwork of pink and rose-colored waves that sharply contrasts with the blue sky overhead. Red halophilic bacteria, brine shrimp, and particular algae species that thrive in the hypersaline environment provide the strong pigment. These lakes have so high salt concentration that salt crystals often develop along their margins, forming natural walkways glittering in the sunlight. The conventional salt-harvesting techniques applied here trace back to the Mayan civilization, therefore giving this geological wonder a remarkable historical context.