Lake Natron. Tanzania,

Lake Natron

Tanzania,

Lakes and reservoirs

Lake Natron is an amazing pond, one of the unique salt lakes on the planet. The lake is located in Tanzania (Africa) in the reserve area of 700 square meters. km in the area of the Great Rift Fault - one of the most active volcanic zones of the planet, constantly in motion. Sheltered between huge volcanic hills and deep craters, the lake is located at the lowest point of the Rift Valley - 600 meters above sea level and is the most caustic reservoir in the world. Natron in translation means "red", which is understandable, you only need to look at it. The lake has a dark red color, characteristic of those lakes where there is a very high evaporation rate. When water evaporates during the drought season, the concentration of salt in the water will increase to such an extent that microorganisms that love salt begin to thrive in it. Natron has a characteristic red color in saline reservoirs due to cyanobacteria, which have the ability of plants to absorb light through photosynthesis. Accumulating photons, bacteria change their pigmentation in the direction of red shades, which gives the lake a rich red color. Only in shallow water, where there are significantly fewer microorganisms, does the water have an orange tint, not red. This lake is very shallow. Its depth does not exceed three meters, and the width varies depending on the water level, which changes due to strong evaporation, as a result of which concentrations of salts and other minerals remain in the lake, in particular sodium carbonate (soda). The water temperature can reach 50 degrees, and the alkalinity level is from 9 to 10.5 pH, almost like ammonia! When photographer Nick Brandt first visited Lake Natron, he was shocked by the sight of eerie petrified animal statues spread throughout the lake. He later found out that these were real animals that were petrified as a result of a strong alkaline concentration in water. Alkaline concentration in water was formed naturally due to volcanic ash. The Egyptians used the same element to better embalm their mummies. No animal can withstand this caustic environment. Long contact with this aggressive environment ends, as a rule, fatal. As soon as a bird or bat dives into the water of the lake, concentrated minerals begin to turn their flesh into stone. This environment succumbed to only a few species of algae and fish that live near the shores of the lake. In East Africa, this lake is the only regular breeding area for 2,500,000 small flamingos whose “close to extinction” status is the result of their dependence on a single breeding site. As salinity increases, the number of cyanobacteria also increases, and the lake can support more nests. These flamingos, which live in one large group in East Africa, gather near the salt lakes in this region, where they feed on spirulina - blue-green algae that produce red pigment. Lake Natron is a safe breeding ground because its caustic environment is a barrier for predators trying to get to flamingo nests built on islands that form in the lake seasonally due to evaporation.