Tanzania is famed for its remarkable Lake Natron, where the waters are lethal to organisms because of their unique physicochemical characteristics.
Lake Natron in Tanzania is deadly to most living things on Earth / © Getty Images
Tanzania is the location of the singular hypersaline Lake Natron, where water temperatures can climb to 60 degrees Celsius, exhibiting an extraordinarily elevated alkaline level. The majority of avian and diminutive animal life that stumble into this water source perish and ultimately transform into macabre “stone” figures.
IFL Science furnishes information concerning the particulars of this hazardous natural occurrence. It highlights that the reservoir’s exceptional aggressiveness is linked to particular volcanic activity in the parched landscape.
Deadly chemical cocktail
Lake Natron is sustained by a solitary river and in excess of twenty geothermal springs. These transport a blend of salts originating from the nearby Ol Doinho Lengai volcano, situated 20 kilometers distant. Due to the highly arid conditions, the water rapidly evaporates, leaving behind a hypersaline solution with a pH level capable of reaching 12 units.
This renders the water nearly as corrosive as highly concentrated domestic bleach. Even momentary exposure to the fluid can induce acute third-degree chemical and thermal injuries within a matter of seconds. Furthermore, the lake’s shallow depth of only three meters permits it to heat up exceedingly swiftly under the equatorial sun.
“No one would ever venture to swim in this. It would be utter madness,” cautioned photographer Nick Brandt, who surveyed the region.
The illusion and the process of mummification
Despite its inherent risks, the lake entices flamingos, for whom the area constitutes the primary breeding ground in East Africa. Nevertheless, other migrant birds frequently become victims of the water’s utterly smooth surface. They mistake the reflection of the sky for solid ground, simply colliding with the lethal water body at considerable speeds.
The corpses of deceased animals do not instantaneously petrify, as proposed by local legends surrounding the Lake of Medusa (named after the mythological Greek Gorgon). Instead, a combination of salts, referred to as natron, extracts all the moisture and fat from them, whilst conserving remnants of feathers and tissue.
Gradually, mineral deposits gather around the vacant animal remains, generating a striking semblance of fossilization. This innate process of desiccation was previously purposefully employed by the ancient Egyptians for the preservation of their deceased.
Lake Nyos, another lake in Africa, once caused the death of 1,800 individuals in a single night. This baffling tragedy perplexed scientists for months until they identified a perilous secret concealed at the depths of the reservoir.
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Source: tsn.ua