It's now the hottest time of year, when your sticky body yearns for a cool dip in the crystal clear blue waters of a sunny drenched lagoon. As you look at these extravagant photographs you will be able to picture yourself relaxing in these natural wonders. Here I am sharing with you 15 photographs of some of the most beautiful lagoons in the whole wide world to look at while you learn a bit more about these incredible paradises on earth.
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1. Giola, Thassos (Greece)
A lagoon is defined as a shallow body of water that is separated from the larger body of water it is drawn from by a shoal, barrier reef, or something of that kind. In the image above you can see a lagoon protected by a rock barrier, for example.
2. Four Seasons Hotel, Bora Bora (French Polynesia)
Typically covered with glorious turquoise waters as here in Bora Bora, there are actually two generic types of lagoons: atoll and coastal.
3. Moorea, Tahiti (French Polynesia)
Atoll lagoons occur when a reef surrounds an island and the reefs grow upwards as the island itself gradually subsides. When only the reefs are above sea level, the atoll lagoon is formed. As you can see here in Moorea, the lagoon actually looks like part of the island.
4. Maupiti, Society Islands (French Polynesia)
A coastal lagoon is usually when the barrier that separates the lagoon from the sea is formed and strengthened due to the movements of sand through the sea currents.
5. The Brando, Tetiaroa (French Polynesia)
Frequently, lagoons are not mentioned in the name of the lagoon. This famous island is actually named after its original owner, movie star Marlon Brando. And the word ‘lagoon’ strikes English speakers’ ears as very exotic, even oriental. Yet you may be surprised to discover the origin of the word. Can you guess?
6. Laguna Colorada (Bolivia)
Lagoon is the English version of the Italian word laguna. The Italian word comes from the Latin lacuna, which means a gap or ditch of some kind. The word was quite neutral, and was never meant solely to describe the kinds of paradises that many parts of the world possess.
7. Blue Lagoon, Grindavik (Iceland)
Lacuna itself derives from the word lacus, which is a lake. A lacuna therefore is a kind of 'little lake', like a ditch.
8. Venice (Italy)
Laguna, naturally and understandably, was the name given to the waters that surround the great Italian city of Venice.
9. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park (Brazil)
It is through the fame of mercantile Venice that this word, lagoon, took on a new life and story of its own.
10. Lord Howe Island (Australia)
So, although Venice is virtually everyone’s favorite city to visit, it does not always strike us as the most typical image of a lagoon. Have a look instead at the magnificent Lord How Island to see quite a contrast!
11. Tavewa Island (Fiji)
But it is the case that Europeans used their own language to describe new things when they explored east and west at a time of European commercial and imperial expansion.
12. Puerto Balandra, Baja California Sur (Mexico)
So, In the year 1697 an Englishman, William Dampier wrote of a ‘Lagune or Lake of Salt water’ in Mexico. Was he thinking of this spectacular place, Puerto Balandra? Perhaps not.
13. Aitutaki Lagoon (Cook Islands)
While in 1769, Captain James Cook also presented a description of an island ‘of an Oval form with a lagoon in the middle.’
14. Ölüdeniz, Fethiye (Turkey)
In this list, you are looking at some of the more popular lagoons that draw thousands upon thousands of visitors year upon year. They exist all around the world.
15. The Blue Lagoon, Comino (Malta)
They are ideal places to enjoy snorkeling, swimming and relaxing. Taking in the peaceful beauty that typifies many of these lagoons is an experience that I heartily recommend to everyone.
