In 2013, wildlife photographer Nick Brandt was one of the first to document this phenomenon. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Any birds that happen to take a dive and don’t make it out become calcified in a hardened, stonelike husk. The whole chemical composition is extremely alkaline, with pH levels of 10.5 close to matching ammonia (NH3). Releasing into the water, this mix of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate were key ingredients once used in Egyptian mummification, creating the perfect preservative in lake form. The lake's temperature can rise to 60 ☌ (140 ☏) in summer! There are also hot springs on its eastern shore.The volcano spews a rare kind of lava rich in sodium (Na) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3), called Natrocarbonatite, or Natron for short. This red tinge to the water can even be seen from space! 6. The water of Lake Natron sometimes turns red (or orange-red) because of the algae that thrives in its hypersaline environment. The lake is actually the largest breeding ground in the world for lesser flamingoes! 5. Flamingoes thrive where others perishįlamingos aren't negatively affected by the bacteria in Lake Natron that harms most other birds. This is a good environment for the growth of a kind of bacteria that damages the innards of the organisms that drink it. Lake Natron contains large salt, soda and magnesite deposits. Because the water coming into the lake leaches through the volcanic material of nearby Mt Ol Doinyo Lengai, the lake’s water is highly alkaline. The lake has no outlets, and receives most of its water from springs and episodic streams. Lake Natron receives only 400 mm of rain a year, and much of that is ‘phantom rain’ – rain that evaporates before hitting the surface.

Here are some facts you'll want to share with others for the wow factor! 1.

Lake natron animals in color