Why does water look blue in a lake, but clear in a glass? (Even if it’s still lake water in the glass)

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Why does water look blue in a lake, but clear in a glass? (Even if it’s still lake water in the glass)

In: Earth Science

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Water *is* blue, but a very very very light blue. In small quantities it appears clear, but in large quantities the blue color becomes apparent.

Anonymous 0 Comments

Much the same as the sky being blue, light passes through water and most of the light is blocked with only the bluer wavelengths able to escape.
A glass of water is small and doesn’t block a lot of the spectrum in such a small space.

Some lakes are VERY blue though, through natural minerals colouring it, like the Blue Lake at Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, Australia [Jenolan Caves Blue Lake](https://images.app.goo.gl/G2iHLABBPSKfUjcS6)

Anonymous 0 Comments

Also the makeup of the material in the lake will effect color, ie is it a sand bottom, or is it granite stone or etc it will effect how the light is reflected and change the way it appears to the eye.