In the summer months the water of lake Natron can get up to a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit!Ĭan you believe that in these terrible conditions live at least four kinds of fish?Īlthough the lake is very toxic, it does however have some freshwater wetlands around the freshwater streams that flow into it. Did you know that the ancient Egyptians used sodium carbonate in their embalming rituals? Lake Natron also boasts a ph value around 10.5. The streams provide the lake with endless minerals and sodium carbonate. This is because there are small rivers or streams that flow into the lake, but none flowing out. Picture from National GeographicĪlong with the flamingoes, Lake Natron is very well known for the crazy amount of salinity it has in it. First of all, it is home to some of the most beautiful Lesser flamingo in the world….
Lake Natron is known worldwide for a few things. Little known fact…I lived in Arusha, Tanzania for quite a few years growing up! Lake Natron was on the edge of a large hunting area we used to frequent, and so I remember seeing it from afar on occasion.
It is in the Great Rift Valley, and Natron has a beauty all on its own for the Great Rift Lakes! Lake Natron resides in the Ngorongoro District of the Arusha region in Tanzania. The uniqueness of Lake Natron prompted Tanzania to add the lake to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance on July 4, 2001.Lake Natron is in northern Tanzania, East Africa. Depending on rainfall, its alkalinity can approach that of straight ammonia, and when the lake is flooded with water that has heated underground, its temperature can reach a scalding 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit). Flamingoes must exercise caution, however, because the lake can turn deadly even to them. This forbidding environment enables Lake Natron to serve millions of flamingoes as the ideal nursery would-be predators avoid the saline lake and leave young birds in peace. Volcanic ash from the Great Rift Valley has collected in local lake basins, creating a network of soda lakes hostile to most organisms. The salt crust changes over time, giving the lake a slightly different appearance each time it is photographed by astronauts or imaged by satellites. This image simulates natural color, showing where the salt-loving microorganisms have colored the lake’s salt crust red or pink. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) flying on the Terra satellite captured this image on March 8, 2003. Spirulina, a blue-green algae with red pigments, passes its pigments along to the Lesser Flamingoes that feed on the algae and raise their young here. An endemic species of fish, the alkaline tilapia, lives along the edges of the hotspring inlets, and the lake actually derives its color from salt-loving microorganisms that thrive in its alkaline waters. This bright red lake is the world’s most caustic body of water, but not to everything. Lake Natron, in Africa’s Great Rift Valley, practically sends a warning with its color.