Jellyfish Lake is a beautiful marine lake. It is located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Palau is an island country located in the western Pacific Ocean. The country contains approximately 340 islands. The most populous island is Koror. Eil Malk is the main island of the Mecherchar Islands, an island group of Palau in the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Rock Islands. Rock Islands are a group of small, rocky, mostly uninhabited islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu. Jellyfish Lake is a home of about millions of golden jellyfish. There are about 70 other marine lakes located throughout the Rock Islands. There are about millions of golden jellyfish migrate horizontally across the lake daily. Jellyfish Lake is stratified into two layers, an oxygenated upper layer (mixolimnion) and a lower anoxic layer (monimolimnion). The oxygenated layer extends from the surface to about 15 metres. All organisms that require oxygen live in this layer including the jellyfish, a few species of fish and copepods. The anoxic layer extends from about 15 metres below the surface to the bottom of the lake. The oxygen concentration in this layer is zero. The hydrogen sulfide concentration rises from about zero at the top of this layer to over 80 mg/liter at the bottom of the lake.
The experience of Palau's jellyfish lake is completely different. Swimming in the lake is safe and permitted. Scuba diving is very amazing experience here, but not everyone gets its permission. It may disturb the ecosystem. Along with this, the quantity of hydrogen sulfide increases when you goes below 15-20 meters, which is harmful for health. Millions of jellyfish can be seen here and they can be touched as well. The depth of the lake is around 30 meters. Jellyfish Lake is around 12,000 years old. This age estimate is based on the depth of the lake. Swimmers and scuba divers from all over the world come here. There are two species of jellyfish live in Jellyfish Lake, moon jellyfish and golden jellyfish. The golden jellyfish are most closely related to the spotted jellyfish (Mastigias papua) that inhabit the nearby lagoons. The moon jellyfish were identified as Aurelia aurita by Hamner. Tourists are required to obtain a pass to access Jellyfish Lake. The Rock Islands/Jellyfish Lake pass is $100 and is good for 10 days. Snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake is a popular activity for tourists to Palau. Scuba diving by tourists in the lake is not allowed. Jellyfish Lake is currently the only one of Palau's marine lakes open to tourists.
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