But what actually happens is that the corpses of animals which died in the lake are sometimes preserved by the sodium carbonate minerals and other salts that were used by the ancient Egyptians for mummification - calcifying their bodies. More than 2 million lesser flamingos use the lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa.īut when animals die and end up in the water, something odd happens: it looks like living animals turned to stone instantly on hitting the lake. Alkalinity in the lake’s water is due to the presence of sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into it. Alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH of 10.5, making it chaotic for animals. The Natron Lake in Tanzania’s Arusha Region contains a salt or soda lake, which can be found in the region. Karumbaįlocks of flamingos, other birds and tilapia fish all call the lake their home. Lake Natron in Tanzania: A Brief Overview. ![]() Lesser flamingoes flock to Lake Natron in their droves for breeding season Image: Getty Images/AFP/T. While it may be paradise for haloarchaea, many creatures can't survive in such alkaline waters – but animals whose bodies are adapted to such pH levels also inhabit the lake, meaning Lake Natron is far from barren. The reason for the lake’s colorful water is down to haloarchaea, microorganisams that flourish in its salty waters – the vermillion shade is even more stunning at the end of the dry season, when the water level is especially low. The stunning red color is caused by haloarchaea, microorganisms which love salty water Image: imago/Bluegreen Pictures/J.-C. The water comes from mineral hot springs and a river, but the lake doesn't drain out to any sea or river – evaporation is how the shallow lake loses water, which can reach as high as 41 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit). The lake actually takes its name from the naturally-occurring blend of chemicals it contains. This raises the lake's alkalinity to far above water's normal neutral pH of 7. Lake Natron's very alkaline water has a pH of around 10.5 - too high for many animals Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mary Evans Picture Library/A. Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano, lies not far from the lake. It owes its unusual chemistry to the surrounding volcanic geology: the minerals, particularly sodium carbonate, and salts created by volcanic processes flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. The lake's extremely alkaline water has a pH as high as 10.5, similar to milk of magnesia, a treatment used to neutralize stomach acid. But when coupled with the sight of dead animals seemingly turned to stone, the lake appears even more eerie. Other animals which inhabit this area are zebra, ostrich, fringed eared oryx, gazelle, gerenuk, lesser kudu and golden jackal.The scarlet waters of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania are eye-catching enough by themselves. Because the flamingos use this area for breeding the lake and its surrounding is under the International concern for preservation. The flamingos of lake Natron feed with the lakes Spirulina algae. They build their nests using the soda flats between August and October. The lake is a breeding place for thousands of Rift Valley Flamingos. Some of the activities at Lake Natron are swimming, a visit to Maasai boma or a simple trek to the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands with numerous craters. Among the most prominent attractions of Lake Natron is the Gelai Volcano, a 2,942 m (9,652 feet) high volcano in the southeastern part, and the archeological site of Peninj, where archeologists discovered the Peninj Mandible – the fossilized teeth of Australopithecus boisei. The area around the lake offers different attractions such as a large number of volcanic implosion craters, numerous waterfalls and ravines with nesting places for Rüppell's Griffon Vultures. The surface of Lake Natron, which has high salt, magnesite and sodium carbonate concentration, is covered with a pinkish-white soda crust. ![]() The shallow and alkaline lake has different springs, the Ewaso Ng'iro River and different hot springs. Lake Natron covers an area 56 km (35 miles) long and 24 km (15 miles) wide but the water level changes due to evaporation. The lake is in the vicinity of Ol Doinyo Lengai, which is visible on the southern part. Lake Natron is situated in northern Tanzania on the border with Kenya, close to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.
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