Matt+Bell+張曉敏

湖泊雖然因其相對封閉，沒有河流的運動之美，卻多了一份寧靜安逸的情調。然而令人驚奇的是，世界各地的湖泊并非都是清澈見底、綠波蕩漾，它們有各自的奇特之處，讓人流連忘返。本文就帶大家來探秘一番。

Imagine walking through a distant island of forest and stumbling across1） a bright， pink lake. Or quietly rowing your boat through a sea of floating lotus2） flowers that expand as far as the eye can see. Dreamy？ Yes， but also completely possible if you consider a visit to one of the world's strangest lakes.

想象一下，步行穿過遠方一座森林覆蓋的小島，無意中發(fā)現(xiàn)一個波光粼粼的粉色湖泊。或是在延伸至視線盡頭的、漂浮的茫茫蓮花當中劃著船悄然穿行。如夢似幻？的確，不過也是完全有可能的，假如你考慮去世界上最奇特的湖泊之一游覽一番。

Jellyfish Lake， Palau

By the ocean， jellyfish are a nuisance3） to swimmers， but swimming with them in Palau's Jellyfish Lake is an unexpected pleasure. These golden jellyfish are glowing balls of pink and purple that range in size from a penny to a soccer ball and were cut off from their natural predators millennia ago. With no need to defend themselves， they evolved without the ability to sting—the only such known species of jellyfish. These carefree creatures do nothing more than soak up the sunlight （their main source of nutrition）—oh， and entertain the humans， who have taken to4） snorkeling5） in their midst.

Lake Nong Harn， Thailand

The yearly sprouting6） of thousands upon thousands of red lotus flowers completely transforms the surface of Lake Nong Harn into an 8，000-acre vision of buoyant7） blossoms. This garden begins to grow in October， just after the rainy season. When it reaches full bloom in December， nearby villagers， who trace the origins of the lake to a tragic love myth， take to boats to enjoy the miraculous scenery. The sea of red lotuses is best viewed during daylight hours before noon， when the flowers are fully opened， revealing their vibrant8）， pink color （not red， despite the name）. The lake， which is located in the province of Udon Thani， 350 miles north of Bangkok， stays rosy until March.

Laguna Colorada， Bolivia

A lake so surreal in color， Salvador Dalí9） himself might have dreamed it up. More likely， this russet10）-red lake fueled the imagination of the great painter， who once traveled to this far reach of Bolivia， now called Dalí Valley， looking for inspiration. The burgundy11） color is derived from plankton12）， red alga and other microorganisms that serve as food for the lake's other outstanding feature—the rare puna flamingo， whose presence makes the place seem something like a mash-up13） of Mars and the Caribbean.

Mount Erebus， Antarctica

Good luck finding a spot to enjoy this lake， where the air outside can reach a freezing 60 degrees centigrade below zero and the stuff inside measures 1，700 degrees centigrade above. One of five lava lakes worldwide， Mount Erebus stands out for its location in Antarctica， the continent that lays claim to14） having the most ice. The pool of molten rock can be found 12，500 feet above sea level atop Mount Erebus—a volcano that has been consistently erupting since 1972. Before you even think about getting close， remember that it has been known to lob15） 10-foot-wide lava bombs without notice.

Lake Hillier， Australia

The source of all the world's strawberry milkshakes16）？ Chewing gum？ Nope， just a lake filled with perfectly pink water. It's no trick of the light either； the 2，000-foot-long lake stays rosy whether day or night and keeps its hue17） even if taken away in a bottle. Scientists are baffled18） by the exact cause， although they have narrowed it down to a few microorganisms and bacteria that live in the lake's salty deposits. Lake Hillier is located on the Recherche Archipelago in Western Australia， and， only a narrow stretch of tree-covered coastline separates the lake from the sky-blue SouthernOcean19）.

Lake Nyos， Cameroon

In 1986， Lake Nyos caused one of the largest unusual natural disasters in recorded history when it literally blew up without warning. It sent a torrent20） of water 300 feet into the air， followed by a small tsunami to the lake's shores. Then came a burst of carbon dioxide at 60 miles an hour， creating a roving21） toxic cloud that suffocated22） 1，746 people in three days， before dispersing23）. Scary， but the lake is now safe to see. A buildup of carbon dioxide at the lake's bottom set off the explosion； French and American scientists have since introduced a system of piping to artificially remove the gas.

帕勞的水母湖

在海邊，水母對游泳者而言是討厭的東西，但是在帕勞的水母湖和它們一同游泳卻是一種意想不到的樂趣。這些金黃色的水母仿佛是粉色和紫色的發(fā)光球，它們大小不一，小到僅及硬幣，大到堪比足球。這里的水母幾千年前就與它們的天敵相隔絕，由于無需自我防衛(wèi)，它們在進化中喪失了蜇刺的能力——這是已知僅有的無蜇刺的水母。這些無憂無慮的生物每天什么都不做，除了吸收陽光（這是它們主要的營養(yǎng)來源）——哦，還有娛樂那些喜歡在水母群里浮潛的人們。

泰國的紅蓮湖

每年成千上萬的紅蓮花發(fā)芽生長，將紅蓮湖的湖面全然變成8000英畝漂浮花海的美景。這個花園里的花10月開始生長，就在雨季結束之后。當12月花朵全部盛開之時，附近的村民會劃著船去欣賞這令人驚嘆的美景——他們把這片湖的起源歸于一個不幸的愛情神話。觀賞紅蓮花海最好是在白天中午之前，這時蓮花完全綻放，展露出它們亮麗的粉紅色（不是紅色，雖然它們名叫紅蓮花）。紅蓮湖位于曼谷以北350英里的烏隆他尼府，它一直到來年3月份都會保持粉紅色。

玻利維亞的科羅拉達湖

這個湖的顏色如此不真實，薩爾瓦多·達利本人才可能憑想象虛構出來。更可能的情況是，這條紅褐色的湖泊激發(fā)了這位大畫家的想象。達利曾到玻利維亞這個現(xiàn)在被叫做達利山谷的遙遠地方旅行，來尋找靈感。這條湖的暗紅色來自湖里的浮游生物、紅藻以及其他微生物，這些微生物同時也是科羅拉達湖另一與眾不同之物——罕見的秘魯紅鸛——的食物，這種紅鸛的存在讓這個地方看起來像是火星和加勒比海的混合體。

澳大利亞的希利爾湖

這里是世界上所有草莓奶昔的來源？亦或是口香糖的來源？都不是，這只是一個滿是完完全全粉紅色湖水的湖。這并不是光在作怪，這個2000英尺長的湖不論白天還是晚上都保持著粉紅色，你即使把湖水裝在瓶子里帶走，它也還是這個顏色?？茖W家們?yōu)檫@背后的確切原因困惑不已，雖然他們已經將范圍縮小到生活在該湖含鹽沉積物里的幾種微生物和細菌上。希利爾湖位于澳大利亞西部的勒謝什群島，而且它與天藍色的南大洋之間只隔著一道狹窄的綠樹掩映的海岸線。

南極洲的埃里伯斯火山湖

希望你運氣好，能找到一個可以觀賞這個湖的地方，這個湖外面的氣溫可以達到極寒的零下60℃，湖里的溫度卻達1700℃以上。作為世界五大巖漿湖之一，埃里伯斯火山湖因其位于聲稱擁有最多冰的南極洲而引人注目。埃里伯斯火山從1972年開始就持續(xù)噴發(fā)，這個熔巖湖位于埃里伯斯火山山頂海拔12500英尺的地方。在你甚至只是考慮要靠近這里之前，別忘了它可是以毫無預兆地拋出十英尺寬的巖漿炸彈而著稱的。

喀麥隆的尼奧斯湖

1986年，尼奧斯湖引發(fā)了歷史記載中最不同尋常的自然災害之一。當時，湖水毫無預警地炸開（沒錯，就是炸開），將一股急流炸到300英尺高的空中，緊接著一個小型的海嘯席卷了湖岸。隨后二氧化碳以60英里的時速噴發(fā)，形成了流動的毒氣云，三天內令1746人窒息而死，之后才消散。這很可怕，但這條湖現(xiàn)在已經安全，可供參觀。當年是湖底積聚的二氧化碳引起了這場爆炸，法國和美國的科學家們此后已經引進了一套管道系統(tǒng)進行人工排氣。