But when coupled with the sight of dead animals seemingly turned to stone, the lake appears even more eerie. If you also want to once see the lake of death with your own eyes, then come to Tanzania to be discovered.The scarlet waters of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania are eye-catching enough by themselves. Therefore, travelers who want to visit Lake Natron need to carefully prepare protective gear and should follow the guidance of professionals.īeing a dangerous place for both living things and humans, Lake Natron is still a unique place in the world that attracts many explorers, especially the people of art and photography. In addition, the water can also damage the eyes of any people. Therefore, the air is drier and hotter, causing people to quickly lose water and fall into a state of fatigue. The temperature and the salt concentration here is quite high. Therefore, Lake Natron is also a creative paradise, inspiring painters, photographers, and those working in the field of art.Īnyway, this lake of death is also a rather inhospitable place for humans. This red color is as bright as blood produced by special species of cyanobacteria found only here. Lake Natron is also famous for its deadly red color besides the phenomenon of intact animal mummies. However, there are also a few unlucky flamingos that fall into the lake and become a mummy in salt cement like other animals. When the water level is deep enough, the flamingos will perch on the salt outcrops and make their nests in the mud of the volcano. Hence, the flamingo can find peace here at the dead lake to breed.

To elaborate, the alkaline environment of the lake is an excellent trap for the flamingos to fend off predators trying to reach their nests. Image credit to Christoph Strässler.ĭespite living in a harsh environment, this kind of flamingo is also endangered because they have no other ideal environment to breed except in this lake of death. The flamingos that can live on the deadly Lake Natron. Indeed, you can see every single hair and even the tongue intact when unearthing an animal falling into Lake Natron after months. These “limestone statues” are perfectly preserved in detail. Hence, their bodies still retain the same shape as when they were alive. All living things, once submerged in the lake, will decompose in a very short time. The carcasses of the animals that fell into the lake are so well preserved that their vivid forms are still preserved, encased in thick layers of salt cement. The temperature of the lake water when shallow can reach 60 oC. According to research, pH levels reach from 9-10.5. Since then, this amount of “volcano salts” remains and accumulates in the lake over years, making the lake extremely alkaline. This majestic volcano’s lava flows down carrying a special amount of mineral salts, which differ from the ordinary seawater’s salt. The original phenomenon of Lake Natron containing excessive alkalinity is from the one million-year-old volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai in the south of the deadly lake. Explaining About the Curse of Lake Natron So, it’s not difficult to imagine why these unfortunate animals slipped and fell into the lake. Especially, Lake Natron has a large and bright mirror surface. When the lake’s water level drops, the bodies of unfortunate animals wash ashore, covered with a thick layer of salt. Therefore, it causes the unfortunate animals to fall into the lake to decompose and calcify. The reason for this rare phenomenon is that the alkaline concentration in the lake is so high. Natron is no different from a lake of death on earth when the creatures that come here are petrified.

The beauty in the red color of the deadly lake from aerial view.

Lake natron animals in colour