Since the water flowing into the lake leaches through the surrounding bedrock that is composed of alkaline, the lake’s water is very salty. This huge shallow lake, 57 km long and 22 km wide, is home to lots of natural wonders. It is fed by mineral-rich hot springs and Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River that rises in central Kenya. It’s 35 miles long from north to south, and 14. In northern Tanzania, just next to Kenya, lies the beautiful, and notorious Lake Natron. Its beauty comes with a price, though: most creatures that drink from the lake will end up dead. Most of its water comes from hot springs and the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River. Lake Natron is located in the Arusha Region, on the north of the country. With its bright red and orange colors, Lake Natron is definitely one of Tanzania’s most spectacular sights. The series of eerie photos present the deadly power of Lake Natron in a truly unique way. It’s 35 miles long from north to south, and 14 miles wide. Photographer Nick Brandt has captured pictures of mummified birds and bats that met their fate in the toxic waters of Lake Natron. The valley contains several alkaline lakes, natron-rich salt deposits, salt marshes and freshwater marshes. It’s often said that the lake turns these unfortunate animals into stones, but in reality, it’s more like a mummification process. Wadi El Natrun(Arabic: 'Valley of Natron' Coptic: iht, 'measure of the hearts'2) is a depressionin northern Egyptthat is located 23 m (75 ft) below sea level and 38 m (125 ft) below the Nile Riverlevel. Some speculate that the extreme reflective nature of the lake’s surface confuses them, just like a large glass window, causing them to crash into the lake.īecause of the lake’s unique characteristics, animals that die in the water are calcified. That said, no one actually knows for certain exactly how the animals die. If a creature drinks from the water, it will most probably end up dead as a result of the tremendous damage to the cells, nervous system, and livers. In these images, you can see the deepest water along the perimeter of the lake bed, the location of lower-elevation lagoons. They show the lake on March 6, 2017, very early in the rainy season that runs from March to May. The chemicals in the water burn the skin and the eyes. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured these natural-color images of Lake Natron and its surroundings. The alkaline waters of Lake Natron can reach a pH level (a measure of how acidic water is – it ranges from 0 to 14) as high as 12, while life generally prefers a pH level closer to 7. This bright red lake is the world’s most caustic body of water, but not to everything. The red waters can even be seen from space! Image credit: NASA Earth ObservatoryĮven though the colorful surface can be very charming, it’s a fatal trap for most animals. Lake Natron, in Africa’s Great Rift Valley, practically sends a warning with its color.
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