Sasquatch Chronicles Blog

It’s beautiful but deadly. Located in a country known for Safarian adventures and experiences with the world’s most remarkable members of the animal kingdom, this lake can turn those beautiful creatures to stone.

Tanzania in East Africa is home to the Serengeti National Park plains, Kilimanjaro National Park, and the spicy islands of Zanzibar. Its northern region is also where the picturesque, yet lethal Lake Natron lies.

Lake Natron
Lake Natron is almost 35 miles long, 15 miles wide, and unmistakable on a map due to its bright red color, with varying shades of orange and pink. It sits approximately 62 miles northwest of the Tanzanian city of Arusha. The lake is very shallow, averaging less than 10 feet deep, but is rich with sodium carbonate, thanks to the neighboring volcanic mounds of Mt Ol Doinyo Lengai.

Fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River in Kenya, the lake has had no outflow and irregular rainfall for thousands of years. The intense heat in the area causes water from the lake to evaporate, leaving an overabundance of trona (sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate) and natron (hydrated sodium carbonate). This transforms the tranquil waters into a hypersaline and highly alkaline death trap for most.

Comparable to ammonia, the waters here can have a pH above 10.5, meaning that it can burn the eyes and skin of living things not adapted to it. The lake’s temperatures can also reach up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Why Is It Red?
Rich in natron (hench the name), it forms a red crust when the water levels recede during the dry season. Saltwater microorganisms called cyanobacteria thrive in these conditions. Cyanobacteria come in a variety of colors, and in Lake Natron, tend to be a bold crimson.

Does it Really Turn Animals to Stone?
Well, yes and no.

As the water is high in cyanobacteria, which releases a chemical that damages cells, the nervous system, and the livers of most organisms that consume it, most of the wildlife that drink from the water die.

Unfortunately, many birds stop by the lake during their migrations. As the waters are calm and still, they often crash into the lake. They drown in the poisonous brine that the water has become and their bodies calcify, their preserved remains eventually washing up on shore.

While the process isn’t immediate, the bodies of the dead and drowned are preserved by the sodium carbonate and other salt minerals in the water. The same method was used by the ancient Egyptians during the mummification process.

Wildlife photographer Nick Brandt published staged photos of some of the mummified animals located on Lake Natron’s shores in 2013. The unique images would make Medusa proud.

Can Animals Live in the Lake?
The lake is home to only one fish species, the Alcolapis latilabris, and algae that have adapted to the severe conditions. However, Lesser Flamingos thrive in the area due to the unlimited supply of their main food sources, algae and cyanobacteria. In fact, there are at times over two million flamingos on the shores of the lake.

The flamingos have been able to grow in such large numbers due to not having to battle predators, the ability to filter the salt in the water through glands in their heads, and their skin is tough enough to withstand the alkalinity and scorching temperatures. 75% of the world’s Lesser Flamingo population is born on the shores of Lake Natron.

The lake inspired the documentary “The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingo” by Disneynature.

Human Threats
As with most natural wonders on Earth, the area is at risk due to human interference. The proposal for a hydroelectric plant on the Ewaso Ng’iro River and a soda ash plant on the lake’s shores threatens it and its inhabitants. While still deadly, it remains a vital ecosystem.