Chemestry: Color of Water

A glass of water seems clear. a ocean seems blue and some ponds look green. What is the color of water? It can be all three, it all depends on the color how much water there is and whats in it.

Because the absorption that gives water its color is in the red end of the visible spectrum, one sees blue, the complementary color of orange, when observing light that has passed through several meters of water. Even a glass of water is a very faint blue.

So pure water is blue, but what about the turquoise color in the photo above or the green pond. those owe there color to impurities in the water. Havasu Falls (shown above) contains high concentrations of lime which give it a turquoise color. An algae in a pond (or other body of water) give a green color.Red algae in water will make water appear red, causing what is called red tide.

Sources: www.webexhibits.org
Wikipedia