New Study Reveals The World’s Bluest Lakes
CanadaCasino conducts analysis to determine bluest lakes
Canada is known for its natural beauty, in particular its wealth of natural blue lakes. But with a staggering two million of them dotted around the country, which one is the bluest of them all?
To find out, CanadaCasino conducted a color analysis study to reveal which Canadian and global lakes are scientifically the “bluest”.
Using unedited satellite images of over 80 popular lakes worldwide, a color match tool was used to find the average HEX code of each body of water. Each shade was then compared to what researchers consider the truest shade of blue, also known as YinMn Blue. The color difference was measured using a DeltaE scale, where the smaller the number, the closer the lake’s color is to YinMn Blue.
- Lake Ontario, Canada, is considered the bluest lake in the world, with a difference of only 5.32 from YinMn blue, known as the “truest shade of blue”.
- Lagoa do Fogo, Portugal, is the lake that is the least blue globally, with a difference of 30.44 from the truest shade of blue
- Lake Ontario, Lake Superior, and Lake Huron are the bluest lakes in Canada
The World’s Top 20 Bluest Lakes, Ranked
Rank |
Lake name |
Country |
Color Match |
Difference in color to YinMn Blue (DeltaE) |
1 |
Lake Ontario |
Canada |
5.32 |
|
2 |
Lake Superior |
North America |
7.63 |
|
3 |
Moraine Lake |
Canada |
10.34 |
|
4 |
Lake Pehoé |
Chile |
14.73 |
|
5 |
Lac de Sainte-Croix |
France |
19.94 |
|
6 |
Bacalar Lagoon |
Mexico |
20.30 |
|
7 |
Lake Baikal |
Russia |
21.47 |
|
8 |
Lake Victoria |
Africa |
21.56 |
|
9 |
Kenai Lake |
Alaska |
22.38 |
|
10 |
Lake Bled |
Slovenia |
22.45 |
|
11 |
Jökulsárlón |
Iceland |
23.41 |
|
12 |
Dead Sea |
Palestine |
23.41 |
|
13 |
Lake Ashi |
Japan |
24.05 |
|
14 |
Gatun Lake |
Panama |
24.09 |
|
15 |
Lovatnet Lake |
Norway |
24.38 |
|
16 |
Lake Tanganyika |
Africa |
25.25 |
|
17 |
Lake Wakatipu |
New Zealand |
25.62 |
|
18 |
Attabad Lake |
Pakistan |
25.80 |
|
19 |
Lake Malawi |
Africa |
26.19 |
|
20 |
Lake Ohrid |
North Macedonia |
27.35 |
Lake Ontario, Canada, is considered the bluest lake in the world, with a difference of only 5.32 from YinMn blue, known as the “truest shade of blue”
Lake Ontario is revealed to be the world’s bluest lake. According to the DeltaE scale, there is a difference of 5.32 from YinMn blue, meaning this lake is the closest to the ‘truest shade of blue’ out of any lake across the globe.
Lake Superior, which spans Canada and America, is the second-bluest lake in the world, with a slightly bigger difference of 7.63 from YinMn blue.
Claiming third place for the bluest lake in the world is Moraine Lake in Banff National. Following closely behind Lake Superior, the famous lake has a difference of 10.34 from the truest shade of blue.
Laguna Colorada, Bolivia, is the lake that is the least blue globally, with a difference of 52.38 from the truest shade of blue.
Of all lakes in the global study, the one with the biggest difference on the DeltaE scale, and therefore the furthest away from the truest shade of blue, is Laguna Colorada in Bolivia, with a difference of 52.38 from YinMn blue. Trailing closely behind is Hutt Lagoon in Australia, with a difference of 49.06, followed by Laguna Verde in Bolivia, with a difference of 47.77.
The Top 10 Bluest Lakes in Canada, Ranked
Rank |
Lake name |
Province |
Color Match |
Difference in color to YinMn Blue (DeltaE) |
1 |
Lake Ontario |
Ontario |
5.32 |
|
2 |
Lake Superior |
Ontario |
6.14 |
|
3 |
Lake Huron |
Ontario |
7.14 |
|
4 |
Moraine Lake |
Alberta |
8.26 |
|
5 |
Abraham Lake |
Alberta |
13.59 |
|
6 |
Kluane Lake |
Yukon |
14.88 |
|
7 |
Peyto Lake |
Alberta |
16.63 |
|
8 |
Joffre Lakes (upper) |
|