Why Does the Ocean Have Blue Water
Or shimmering East Lake Toho? Or even the sparkling swimming pool, for that matter? After all, the water in a drinking glass is clear.
When you reserve your stay at East Toho RV Resort and Marina, you do so for the lure of blue water on a smooth lake. Blue sky above, blue water below. It’s tempting to think that bodies of water are blue because they reflect the sky.
That’s partly true, but there’s more to it. From the lake shore or in your fishing boat, the surface of East Lake Toho appears to be blue on a sunny day. Or grey when a storm is brewing. Maybe even pink during sunrise or sunset. But if you dive below the surface, the blue water remains. In the depths, the water isn’t reflecting the sky. The color of the blue water is created by the water itself.
Sunlight Contains the Full Spectrum of Visible Colors
From red to violet and every color in between, sunlight contains all the colors of the rainbow. And each of those colors has its own wavelength. The various colors of light’s photons are absorbed differently by different things.
Even though swimming pools are painted white and the bottom of the lake and the ocean is covered by brown sand, lake and swimming pool water appear to be blue due to water’s absorption of red light. When light hits water, the water’s molecules absorb some of the photons from the light.
In shallow water, like the very edges of the lake or the water in your drinking glass, light penetrates completely because there are not enough water molecules to absorb all the red photons. Therefore, shallow water will be colorless.
In deeper waters however, light cannot fully pass through, as there are too many molecules in the way of the photons. The water molecules absorb all the red wavelengths from the light, making it reflect blue.
Sunlight, Science, and Fishing
Next time you are out on the blue water of East Lake Toho waiting for a fish to take your bait and your kiddo suddenly asks you, “Why is the water blue?”, you can give the scientific explanation, or you can say what parents have been saying since the dawn of time…”Because the water reflects the sky.”
Enjoy blue skies, blue water, and deluxe amenities when you book your next fishing vacation at East Toho RV Resort & Marina!