The statues were eerie and unsettling, but it didn’t repel me from taking in the rest of the sights the lake had to offer. I pointed them out to my guide who told me it's hard to say for sure how the animals ended up in the water, but that the stoney mummification is caused by the sodium carbonate minerals of the volcanic lake. The shoreline was punctuated with strange sculptures that upon further inspection revealed themselves to be calcified corpses of small animals - I noticed mainly birds and a couple of figures that seemed to be bat-like. Lake Natron skyline is dominated by the volcanic. After ruling out all possible diseases, scientists determined the. It was less lush than other sites I’ve visited whilst in Tanzania, but one of the most startling. Lake Natron lies within the Lake Natron basin which is a Ramsar Site wetland of international significance. But around 20 years ago, the trees around the lake abruptly started to shrivel up and die. The content of sodium salts in the waters of the lake is so. The first thing I noticed was that the landscape is inherently dry, any notes of green were subdued, overpowered by the dark ochres and greys of the rocks and sand. Another issue is that it is steadily decreasing in size as the region turns more and more into a desert landscape, and along with the very warm water temperature, the summer heat creates a ton of evaporation. Lake Natron is very shallow (its depth varies from 1.5 to 3 m), so it warms up to 50 and even 60C. The volcano loomed overhead, more imposing than ever now that I stood at its base. I was thankful for this - the thick air slowly cooled around me, the sand under my shoe still noticeably hot through the sole, but not unbearable. It can reach temperatures as high as 140F. It is in the Gregory Rift, which is the eastern branch of the East African Rift. The natron chemical in the lake is a mixture of sodium carbonate and baking soda and is in enough concentration to calcify the lake’s visiting fauna. The lakes waters contain sodium carbonate hydrate, better known as Natron, a lethal natural compound for many animals who risk their lives. By the time I got to Lake Natron, the sun had begun its descent in the sky. 1080 2 Lake Natron is a salt or alkaline lake located in north Ngorongoro District of Arusha Region in Tanzania.
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