The deadliest lake on Earth!
What if you jumped into Lake Natron- would you turn to stone?
Have you ever heard of Medusa? The snake-haired Greek monster who turns people to stone with a single glance. Well she may just be a myth but there is an area so deadly that it could actually turn you to stone!
The infamous Lake Natron what makes Lake Natron water so dangerous, what kind of creatures live there, and could you survive if you fell in? Here's what would happen if you jumped into Lake Natron. We'd better look at what Lake Natron is made of. Much like the Dead Sea this Tanzanian Lake doesn't run off into any oceans or rivers this allows it to soak up all that salty desert rain, making it soupy yet what makes it especially lethal is its close proximity to the volcano Doinyo Lengai. The volcano spews a rare kind of lava rich in sodium and potassium carbonate called natural carbonatite or Natron for short releasing into the water this mix of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate were key ingredients.
Once used in Egyptian mummification creating the perfect preservative in Lake form the whole chemical composition is extremely alkaline with pH levels of 10.5 close to that of ammonia. This gives the lake its rosy hue, any birds who happen to take a dive and don't make it out become calcified in a hardened stone like husk! Talk about killing two birds with one stone.
In 2013 wildlife photographer Nick Brandt was one of the first to document this phenomenon he discovered several stone birds and other unlucky animals in the dry season. when the water had receded he theorized that since the lake is so mirror-like and reflective the birds must have flown right into it as if it was a big glass door but, despite so many birds dying in Lake Natron there is a particular species flourishing turns out the lakes toxic waters provide a safe haven from predators making it perfect flamingos flocking grounds so if flamingos can handle it couldn't we?
Well it's not that simple unfortunately flamingos thrive in salty lakes because of their tough skin and scaly legs, which prevent birds thet can drink the fresh water from nearby Springs or geysers at the edges of the lake and if they're desperate enough they can even filter saltwater with special glands in their nasal cavities. And to top it all off their strong stomachs allow them to feed on the toxic algae found throughout the lake .
This makes Lake Natron the perfect spot to raise and protect their young, so let's say we've tried to live like a flamingo and decided to take a dip, well depending on the time of year the water can be at sixty degrees which is hot enough to cause third-degree burns in five seconds or less. Also I wouldn't plan on doing any fancy dives or cannonballs as it's shallowness is also chock full of sharp salty structures you wouldn't be turned to stone instantly but, if you happen to drown and stay submerged your entire body would Harden and be preserved if people found you hundreds of years later.
You might still have your hair and organs intact and still lookin spiffy after all those years like mummification. Natron's super high alkalinity stops the decomposition process, thankfully this means you'd be safe from vultures or any other hungry scavengers looking for a snack if you went into the lake. At a time when the water temperature was lower it could feel more like a hot tub but your eyes or any open wounds would sting like crazy!
videographers plunged into Lake Natron toxicity when their helicopter crashed the pilot suffered a broken leg and another passenger had a broken hip incredibly one of the passengers managed to struggle to shore and alerted some of the Masai tribes people nearby. They quickly built stretchers and carried the injured to land in the nick of time.
Even though you could survive Lake Natron’s watters, I'd stick to a swimming pool if I were you. As for our flamingo friends this just goes to show how the harshest environments can be a sanctuary for some animals but if you're craving something even more extreme how about surviving a limnic eruptions on your next swim think you could handle it?
About the Creator
Michelle Hagen
Hi all! Blogger here! I use to love to blog all the time and have moved over to wanting to write articles! Follow me along on my journey here!
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