DEADLY LAKE NATRON, TANZANIA

Located in East Africa, the United Republic of Tanzania is home to many natural wonders, among which is the eerie Lake Natron. It got its name due to the mixture of salt and minerals, called natron, which are revealed when the water’s level decreases. Natron is a compound that occurs naturally, comes from volcanic ash, and is mainly consisted of sodium bicarbonate and sodium carbonate.



Temperatures in the lake can rise to 140 °F (60 °C) and the alkalinity is between pH 9 and pH 10.5, almost as alkaline as ammonia. Animals who enter the water are almost certainly doomed, save certain kinds of fish that have evolved to survive in such a caustic environment.

All these characteristics, make Lake Natron the deadliest in the country. The crust created by the alkali salt sometimes gives the lake a red or pink hue, or even orange in the more shallow parts, by the microorganisms that live there.

Despite all of this, the lake remains one of the main breeding grounds for lesser flamingos, a species who’s status of ‘near threatened’ is a direct consequence of its dependence on Lake Natron for breeding purposes. During periods when there isn’t much rain, the lake’s water level decreases, revealing salt islands, on which birds build nests. The blue-green algae that grow in the water, in turn, feed on the birds nests. Animals that die in the lake are turned into statues, through calcification.