![]() Fed by nearby volcanic springs, the sweltering 40 degree celcius waters and high salt content make the lake inhospitable for most, and, during the dry season, petrify the creatures that die within it. This natural wonder is caused by microorganisms that flourish in the mineral rich waters of the lake. But lying in the country’s northern reaches you will find the eerily crimson waters of Lake Natron, an equally thrilling natural phenomenon to explore.Īt first sight, the lake looks fairly conventional with blue waters lapping the shoreline, but a journey from above soon reveals a unique red crust covering the lake’s surface – an unusual sight to the human eye. The mighty peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Great Migration of stampeding wildebeest through the Serengeti and the Big 5 within one of the seven Natural Wonders of Africa- the Ngorongoro Crater, are what the East African country of Tanzania are best known for. China & Hong Kong Destination Management Company.Latin America Destination Management Company.Germany, Switzerland & Austria Destination Management Company.North America Destination Management Company.Rubondo Island National Park in Tanzania.Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania.Makgadikgadi Pans National Park in Botswana.Central Kalahari Game Reserve in Botswana.Timbavati Private Game Reserve in South Africa.Thornybush Private Game Reserve in South Africa.Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa.Let’s hope his images are not a portent of what’s to become of this spectacular place. From the look of Brandt’s pictures, the place is already dead. The spectacle the Lesser Flamingo puts on at Lake Natron may soon disappear. The human activity may directly drive off the skittish birds, not to mention the ways both projects might alter the ecology of the water and mud the flamingos have come to rely upon. A dam and a soda ash extraction factory will dramatically alter the ecology of the lake. Lake Natron is such an attractive mating site for flamingos because the water stays low enough to prevent nest flooding but remains high enough that there’s a barrier between predators and the conical nests the birds build. ![]() That mating ground is now under threat from industry. ![]() For the Lesser Flamingo, Lake Natron is a singular, prime breeding site. In some ways, Brandt’s photos mask the importance of Lake Natron to life in and around the body of water. Those that fall in and perish are exceptionally preserved by the salts that make the lake so unique, but the lake’s surface isn’t an aquatic equivalent of the Medusa’s gaze. And for those animals that do become interred here, animals don’t immediately die and turn to stone upon touching the lake. Lake Natron is a hotspot for beautiful life. BBC natural history unit programs and even a Disney documentary have featured the flamingos who congregate in this picturesque place. The importance of Lake Natron to the Lesser Flamingo isn’t a secret. Lake Natron is also an essential breeding ground for the Lesser Flamingo. Even though the lake is particularly warm and salty, Koerth-Baker notes, algae within the lake supports a species of tilapia adapted to the unusual conditions. And, just like the Great Salt Lake, Lake Natron is hardly lifeless.īoingBoing’s Maggie Koerth-Baker has already covered the peculiar fish that live in the alkaline waters of the strange lake. Dead pelicans, seagulls, and other birds take on a similar appearance as salt covers their bodies along the margins of the Great Salt Lake near my home. The flamingos and bats didn’t really become petrified in place, as if calcified by ominous clouds of salt-filled smog. ![]() But as Brandt himself has noted, the images are more art than science, and these pictures obscure the resiliency of life in and around the lake.Īs Brandt told New Scientist and other news sources, he collected the dead animals and posed them on their dark perches. The gloomy images make the lake look like a living museum where animals fall into the water and immediately turn to stone. If you’re a natural history fan and have been online at all this week, chances are you’ve seen photographer Nick Brandt’s stunning photos of mummified birds and bats along the shores of Tanzania’s Lake Natron.
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