The Multi-Colored Crater Lakes Of Kelimutu

Mount Kelimutu, with its multi-colored crater lakes, is the amazing natural phenomenon in central Flores Island of Indonesia. Kelimutu is a passively degassing stratovolcano capped by three crater lakes containing exotic fluids and whose physico-chemical expressions have changed dramatically through the years. Three crater lakes are located on the eastern summit of Kelimutu. Each of the lakes has a distinctive physical structure, a unique geochemical and hydrothermal regime, and a particular historical sequence of color changes controlled by changes in physico-chemical conditions. The visitor is never quite sure what color the lakes will be when they reach the top as they vary significantly. Unlike other crater lakes where the color variation can be predicted, this is not the case with these three lakes. The colors that you can see here are blue, green and black (and they predominate) yet the lakes also change to white, red and blue too.

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