Birds turned to stone: the ominous Lake Natron in Tanzania. Lake Natron in Tanzania Lake Natron in Tanzania

March 16th, 2012 , 01:10 pm

We went to Lake Natron at the very beginning of our big East African trip.

We picked up our cars in Arusha and hit the road! True, instead of three Toyota Hiluxes that we were promised, we received two Prado Land Cruisers in good condition, with automatic transmission, and one old broken-down Land Cruiser with a manual handle, which fell apart on the move and gave us many unforgettable adventures))

We were simply happy until the pigs squealed when our cars arrived! And it was like this. We chose a rental car company in Moscow (on the Internet) on the principle of “the cheapest” of those that were willing to give us a car in Tanzania and pick it up in Kenya. The evening before leaving for Natron, the cars were supposed to be brought to our hotel by 18:00. But there were no cars at 18, 19, or 20. We started trying to call our company (4x4 Kenya). A problem arose - how to call a Kenyan number from Tanzania.

The girls at the hotel reception even kindly gave us their mobile phones and tried to call us, but in vain. Either the number was wrong, or they didn’t know the Kenya code... “Eureka!” - one of them suddenly says. “A Kenyan businessman is staying in our room 210! He will help us!”

We are leaving with a delegation of 6 people led by a Tanzanian woman from the reception to room 210. Knock Knock. A well-fed Kenyan opens the door, his eyes widen, “Jambo!” The entrepreneur happily agrees to help us. We give him a piece of paper with the details. He takes it, looks at it, shakes his head. Numbers without area code. "This is very suspicious, I'm afraid you have been deceived. There are a lot of lying people in Kenya. They may have a beautiful website, but after they receive the money... How much did you pay them?" We transferred 20% to them. I immediately remember that before the trip they offered to transfer the full payment... But I still can’t believe it. So many letters of correspondence, a story about some incident in Ngorongoro, where our High Luxes broke down and we were promised Land Rovers in return.

Finally, the Kenyan, having correctly substituted the country code, dials one of the phones. We listen carefully to the conversation.
"Is this fo bai fo Kenya? I want to order a 4x4 car from you." Interesting:)
"And that's all you have? My friends, this is not a 4x4 car"
"My friends are waiting for your cars at the hotel in Arusha." Pee-Pee-Pee - they hung up.

Kenya smiles widely, revealing his snow-white teeth: “My friends, you were scammed! This is some kind of crap, not a 4x4 company.”
His smile is so wide and sympathetic to our grief that it’s hard not to believe him. We thank him. He sees us off, sighs heavily after us...

Let's go search the Internet to go to the 4x4 Kenya website. After a long search we find an Internet cafe that is already closing. We persuade the hostess to check her email for 5 minutes. We record phone numbers from the 4x4 Kenya website. The first phone differs from the phone on our printed confirmation. Everything is the same, but one thing is missing the last digit. Exactly, some kind of setup.

As a result, we arrange a meeting in the morning with the local Car Hire and go to bed...

The night was mysterious and enigmatic... Kirill had a dream... There was a knock on the door. On the threshold is the same girl from the reception. “Good night,” she says (in Russian!!!). A 4x4 representative arrived. He went to bed - in the morning at 09:00 he will be waiting for you at the reception. And the Cars? I didn't see any cars.

Then Kirill realizes that he is sitting on the bed and sleeping. And he didn’t even get up anywhere.... Bryaks continues to fall asleep.

In the morning it turns out that the guy from the 4x4 has indeed arrived, is sleeping and will be waiting for us at 09:00. Amazing! Soon our cars arrive. Hakuna Matata!!! Yesterday at 18:00 they just leisurely left Nairobi to visit us.

We fill out the documents, negotiate about the deposit (not in vain - one of them was never returned to our card), pack our things into the cars (this turned out to be difficult - especially because of the huge chairs that were given to us) and hit the road!

We flew 200 km on a good asphalt road quickly. There are 100-150 km left along the dirt road directly to the campsite near the lake. They took a long time to overcome, not so much because of the bad road, but because of the many stops for the first photos of real non-tourist Africa!

At first we were unable to drive past the famous baobab tree.

Then they couldn’t help but arrange a photo shoot for the local women who were collecting firewood.
Interestingly, everyone had a key hanging around their neck :)

We got a little stuck.

We met our first animals on this African trip! And not somewhere in the park, but in the wild itself! Just along a dirt road!

Donkey first))

Then a giraffe somewhere far, far away

Ahh! Zebras! Let's chase them! Didn't catch up))

Several Thompson Gazelles, which we, out of habit from Namibia, mistook for Springboks.

And finally, the Giraffe is very, very close!))

But it was already getting dark and we had to hurry. We still need to find our campsite, the location of which we had little idea of, and set up the tents for the first time, which were included in the full camping equipment for the cars.

It got dark. Having passed several gates, at each of which they collected money from us (it is not clear why - this place is not a national park), following the signs and advice of locals, we finally found our campsite! They gave us a site for tents and even helped us set them up.

In the morning we immediately went to the lake! Fortunately, it shone as a wide blue spot on our GPS navigators. At first we were driving along the road around the lake, but the road suddenly began to go somewhere to the side. We returned and turned at random at one of the turns. Our column of three jeeps passed (through off-road - there were no roads anymore) a local village and drove along the bed of a dry river. According to the maps we are approaching Natron. Lake? Where is the promised red lye? Empty. Let's move on. Looks like this part has dried out. The surface is smooth. An ideal place to race and set speed records!

The petrol PRADO easily wins the race. He is already at the finish line when the diesel PRADO and the old Kruzak are just accelerating. Something is really bad for Kruzak. 4x4 mode failed. The soil becomes wetter and the wheels get stuck. It's slipping.
The 4x4 mode could only be reproduced in this way:

During the rainy season, everything here is, of course, under water. But now, the water on the horizon seems to be very close!

We throw the cruiser, squeeze into 2 PRADOs and go to the water! We have to get there! Where are the flamingos after all?! Not a season? Let's go, let's go. It’s getting scary that we’ll get stuck even on all-wheel drive PRADOs. We stop. Let's look back...

The abandoned Cruiser stands in the water. Damn it! It's all a mirage! No water, no flamingos, no life!

We turn around and go back. It was not possible to defeat Natron in a rush. Time is short - climb Ol Donio Lengai at night! You need to look for a guide in the village for the ascent. At the same time, maybe he will still have time to find a flamingo for us today!

It becomes very difficult for the Kruzak to drive back. It gets stuck at every step.

Not a soul met
but as soon as they withered, Maasai helpers came out of nowhere!

Time passed and they couldn’t get the car out. It turned out that we did not have a single cable, and the jacks were broken...
We drove one of the cars to the camp in search of the cable. But while we were driving, the guys figured out to remove the branch cutters from the car and use them as a cable! Hurray, we pulled it out!

On the way to the camp we found water! True, without flamingos... But clearly alkaline.

The Maasai immediately appeared! Where do they come from!

They dropped off the mother, child and grandmother to the village. 7 people in the car - Fun and cool on the Prado!))

Finally we returned to the campsite. We left most of the group to rest and went to the village to look for a guide for climbing Ol Donyo Lengai. The night promised to not be easy. They found a noble guide. Named BURA. A respectable man, 56 years old. As he told us later, he has been leading tourists to Vulcan Peak for 20 years. Before that, she was herding sheep. Well, basically similar professions, we thought))

There was still time until evening and Bura kindly agreed to find us a flamingo! Yuhhu! It turned out that in the morning we went to a completely different part of the lake.

We took everyone from the camp and within half an hour of driving we were at... the lake. This, of course, is also not Tanganyika or Baikal, but still there was a little more water than we found during the day.
And it certainly wasn’t a mirage!
And Flamingo! There were flamingos too!

We admired flocks of flamingos flying from place to place (which we kindly asked them to do))) against the backdrop of the setting sun. And above us, above all this virgin African nature, towered the majestic volcano Ol Donyo Lengai, which just recently (in 2007) powerfully erupted, throwing powerful streams of lava from its crater.

It hung over us so menacingly and powerfully that we absolutely could not believe that overnight (start at 00:00, elevation difference 1700m, Crater at an altitude of 2900m) we would climb it and meet the dawn on the edge of the crater. At that moment we could not even imagine how difficult it would be. Looking ahead, I will say that we did it! Only 5 people out of 11 who started! But they did it! But more on that in the next post. Very soon))

Lake Natron, located in the north of Tanzania, is one of the mysterious places on our planet. Interest in him arose in connection with the publication of the illustrated publication “Across the Ravaged Land”. Its author is the famous photographer Nick Brandt, who is well acquainted with African nature. He claims that the ominous lake has the ability to turn bats and birds that fly here into stone.

The mysterious lake in Tanzania attracted the photographer’s attention for a reason: Nick Brandt specializes in black and white photography of wild African animals. Having visited Natron, the photographer was amazed by the abundance of bird skeletons that can be found in the coastal strip, so there was a need to find an explanation for this phenomenon.

The main feature of the lake is the high water temperature; in the swampy part it can reach 60 C. In addition, the water has a high level of salt content; alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5. These factors contribute to the “mummification” of animals that find themselves in this aggressive environment. In essence, the birds are gradually turning into limestone.
Nick Brandt managed to find several surviving bird “statues”. He installed them in natural poses against the background of water, so in the photographs they look as if they were alive. In the photographs you can see a small flamingo, a dove and an eagle. By the way, Lake Natron is unique precisely because here is the only place where small flamingos breed (although, as we can see, some birds die immediately).

There is no exact explanation for the reason for the death of the birds. Scientists believe that they may be disoriented due to the powerful reflectivity of the lake's surface. Like birds crashing against transparent glass, African flyers crash into the surface of the lake.

I would like to continue the topic about unusual bodies of water on the planet. Today I want to tell you about Lake Natron, which is located in northern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya.

I have already told you that on Earth there are waters in which have a pink and even blood-red hue. All these natural wonders are located in different parts of the world. The color of water is determined by various factors: in some bodies of water special bacteria or algae live, in others the unusual color is caused by minerals dissolved in the water.

Lake Natron is unique in its own way. Firstly, it is one of the most alkaline bodies of water on Earth, the pH of the water reaches 10.5.

Also, the uniqueness of this lake is that the water in it, in addition to being very salty, its temperature reaches 50-60 degrees Celsius. In such conditions there are very few organisms that could survive here. But they exist! You might think that I'm about to start talking about some algae and incredible bacteria? But no, there are two species of alkaline telapia in Lake Natron! These two species are endemic and can only be found here. Of course, where else can you find such living conditions!

A very rare species of small flamingo also breeds and hatches on the lake. This lake is practically the only place for their breeding. They build their nests on islands of salt, which are formed by strong evaporation of water.

The lake has one more property. Due to the fact that the water in the lake is hot, animals or birds that accidentally fall into the water die, and the salt turns them into stone statues. Terrifying view!

By the way, I haven’t yet told you why the water in the lake is red. It contains halophilic cyanobacteria, which are capable of photosynthesis like plants. But as a result of photosynthesis, they produce a red pigment. This is what causes the red color of the water. By the way, Lake Natron is not always red, but only when the salinity reaches very high levels (due to the evaporation of water during the dry season), then these bacteria begin to actively multiply.

"Salted" flamingo skeleton on Lake Natron. In addition to the bones, the “salted” feathers of the dead bird were preserved.
On the territory of Tanzania there is Lake Natron, the waters of which contain substances that contribute not only to the death of animals that touch the surface of the reservoir, but also to their petrification. The rare phenomenon is caused by the chemical composition of the lake, which leaves behind fossilized creatures like something out of a horror movie. The consequences of this rare chemical phenomenon were depicted by photographer Nick Brandt in his book “Across the Tormented Land.” Nick Brandt writes in his new book that the fossilized creatures around the lake are preserved by a constant pH of 9 to 10.5. This alkalinity preserves these creatures for eternity. How exactly these birds, bats and other animals died is not known.

Lake Natron is translated as “red” because of its special color, which is given to it by certain microorganisms that appear when the level of salinity and alkalinity increases excessively. The main such organism is cyanobacteria, a tiny bacterium that, like plants, absorbs light through photosynthesis. As a result, the accumulated photons cause a change in the pigmentation of this amazing bacterium towards a red color and millions of bacteria of the cyano species formed in the alkali of Lake Natron give a deep red color to all surfaces of the water. Only in shallow water, where there are slightly fewer of these bacteria, the water is no longer bright red, but orange. This is truly a miracle canvas of nature painted by a local God named Lengai, the progenitor of all things on Earth among the Maasai tribes.

Dead Lake Natron is located in northern Tanzania on the border with Kenya. This salt lake has a shallow depth - a maximum of 3 meters, and constantly changes its shoreline depending on the time of year and water level. Water temperatures in wetlands can reach 50 degrees Celsius, and depending on the water level, alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5. Dead Lake Natron is covered with a crust of salt, which periodically turns red and pink. This is the result of the vital activity of microorganisms that live in the lake.

The lake is located in one of the most active volcanic zones in the world, constantly in motion - the Great Rift Rift region north of the Ngorongoro and Empakai craters. Along with Lake Eyasi, located southeast of the Ngorongoro conservation area, and Lake Rukwa in western Tanzania, Lake Natron is one of the world's unique alkaline lakes, predominantly consisting of salt and soda. A similar chemical interaction of underground flows, water and air determines the specific microclimate around these reservoirs. The landscape itself is subject to change. First of all, because of the evaporation, which turns the shores of the lake into a petrified, salty white desert.

The total area of ​​the reserve is 700 square meters. km.

It is here, not far from this “dead sea” of Tanzania, that one of the sacred places of Ancient Africa is located - the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano, which translated from the Maasai language means “Mountain of the Gods” or “Mountain of Spirits”. This volcano today is one of the “LIVING WONDERS OF TANZANIA”, more about which you can read in the fascinating article “Why don’t the volcanoes of Tanzania sleep?”

According to some reports, Ol Doinyo Lengai woke up for the last time in October 2008, but never fell asleep. According to the most recent data, a volcanic eruption was observed in 2010, which was apparently caused by the growing discontent of the “gods living in the crater of the volcano.”

One of the main reasons for their dissatisfaction could be the active discussion of the construction of a soda processing plant on the shores of Lake Natron - right at the foot of Ol Doinyo Lengai. The second reason could be plans to build a hydroelectric power station at the northern end of the lake, which would provoke a change in the alkaline balance in the lake.

Be that as it may, the Lake Natron reserve, which includes the sacred mountain, is increasingly exposed to external influence from large companies, which disturbs the peace zone and can provoke, according to shamans from the Masai tribe, the “wrath of the gods” Ol Donyo Lengai.

There are many articles on this topic on the Internet, many talk about inevitable death after touching the surface of the lake. But actually it is not. Millions of flamingos live here. And the lake is the only breeding area for the 2.5 million endangered Lesser Flamingos that live in the valley.

These flamingos flock along salt lakes in the area where they feed on Spirulina (blue-green algae with red pigments). Lake Natron is the only breeding site for the Lesser Flamingo because its caustic environment acts as a barrier against predators trying to reach these birds' nests. Temperatures in wetlands can reach 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), and depending on rainfall, alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5 (almost as alkaline as ammonia).

In 1962, due to heavy rains, there was a flood. According to experts, more than a million eggs were destroyed.

The lake is home to two endemic species of alkaline telapia - Alcolapia latilabris and Alcolapia ndalalani. The species Alcolapia alcalica is also present in the lake, but it is not endemic.

Threats to the salinity balance from increased freshwater inflows come from the engineered loading watersheds of Lake Natron and the planned operation of a hydroelectric dam. Although development plans include building a dam at the northern end of the lake to contain fresh water, the threat of dissolution is still serious.

A new threat to Lake Natron is the development of a soda processing plant on the shores of the lake. The plant pumps water from the lake and then uses chemical processes to extract sodium carbonate to convert it into laundry detergent for export. Housing was also built near the plant for more than 1,000 workers, and coal was brought in for the power plant to provide energy for the entire plant complex.

Because of its unique biological diversity, Tanzania named the Lake Natron Basin to the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance on 4 July 2001.

The hunting areas within the Lake Natron Wildlife Refuge are located on its northern and southern boundaries and are called, respectively, the Lake Natron South Game Control Area and the Lake Natron North Game Control Area.

The southern hunting grounds of the reserve are located north of Arusha in the famous Masai Steppe Maasai Steppe), stretching over 1500 sq. km. To the west they border with the Ngorongoro Conservation Zone, and to the north and east with Kenya and Lake Natron, respectively. These areas are home to two permanent luxury campsites and two adventure fly camps. The mid-season Kiserian adventure camp offers accommodation in a valley with stunning views of Mount Kilimanjaro and excellent opportunities for hunting Grant's and Thompson's gazelle and, in the very north of the protected area, gerenuk and lesser kudu.

An equally wonderful place to observe the life of the Maasai lands is the luxury camping “Kitumbeine luxury base camp”, located near Mount Kitumbeine of the same name (2800 meters), where savannah acacias grow. The camp is located at the foot of this mountain and offers indescribably beautiful panoramas overlooking the mountain ranges of the Great Rift Rift and the white, smoking cap of the still active Olduvai volcano. It has some of the best hunting grounds for oryx, mountain buffalo and large leopard.

The northern hunting grounds (Lake Natron North Game Control Area) 0 are much more extensive. They run along the border of Tanzania and Kenya, east of Lake Natron itself, where the Great Rift Rift mountain ranges rise, covered with a dense tract of mixed tropical forest, where mountain buffalo, a special trophy of Masailand, remain in large numbers. You can stay in one of two mobile hunting camps, which will be delivered along with provisions by plane from Arusha or Kilimanjaro.

Here the terrain is wilder and untrodden by humans than in the south. That is why the villages of the original African Maasai tribe here seem to fit particularly organically into the landscape of the Lake Natron reserve. These are some of the best places for photo safari. Just imagine the red surface of water with the same red haze in which thousands of small flamingos are drowning on the horizon, as if involuntarily coloring their wings in orange and pink shades.

Here it is allowed to hunt typical representatives of Masailand fauna: mountain buffalo (buffalo), bushpig or warlock, leopard, lion, hyena, jackal, white antelope, savannah zebra, small cats (caracal, genetta, kivet, serval and wild cat), small antelopes (dik-dik, duiker and Steinbeck antelope), medium-sized antelopes (gerenuk, lesser kudu, East African bushbuck, impala) and gazelles of Thompson, Grant, Robert and mountain readbook.

Large antelopes such as oryx, patterson and greater kudu are also available as permitted game species. It is also possible to hunt for the feathered inhabitants of the northern forests of the Lake Natron Nature Reserve. Among the local Maasai population, the meat of hazel grouse, pigeon and quail is especially expensive.

How to get there

The roads to the lake are quite rough, and basically you can only get there through Arusha or Lake Manyara Park (5-6 hours). But, nevertheless, the local route is one of the most difficult to pass compared to other tourist areas. An alternative safari route to the lake passes through the eastern Serengeti-Loliondo corridor.

Things to do

Watch flocks of flamingos on Lake Natron, climb to the coldest active crater in the world - Ol Donyo Lengai, take an antelope safari.

Features of Lake Natron the phenomenon of Lake Natron is an eerie sight

Lake Natron is the most alkaline body of water on planet Earth. It is located in the northern part of Tanzania, near the border with neighboring Kenya. The reservoir received its name not by chance, but from the mineral of the same name, which this area is rich in. There is another version. It’s as if the lake got its name because of its color, which means “red.” The reservoir is fed from hot mineral springs and the Iwaso Nyiro River.

Natron has a relatively shallow depth - less than three meters. It depends on the season and is constantly changing. In summer, the lake is much shallower due to strong evaporation. It is at this time that the concentration of salt and sodium carbonate in the water increases, and the surface of the reservoir becomes covered with a thin crust. Mineral salts get here along with the ash of a volcano located in the East African Rift Valley.

Uniqueness of the area

The lake itself is a very mysterious and unique phenomenon. Natron is part of the same rift valley, which is more than a million years old. It appeared here thanks to volcanic eruptions. Even now, this volcanic zone is considered one of the most active in the world. The volcano closest to the lake is called Lengai. Local residents claim that he woke up in 2008. This is not known for sure, but the fact that he still does not sleep is a fact. The last time an eruption was observed was in 2010.

The surrounding area of ​​the lake is also rich in archaeological surprises. Excavations were once carried out here, during which they found the remains of Homo Sapiens, which had lain in the ground for more than thirty thousand years. Researchers claim that previously hominids lived along the shores of the lake, which, according to some versions, were the ancestors of modern humans. Nowadays, the Salei tribe lives here. These are representatives of the Maasai clan, they are engaged in cattle breeding, thanks to which they exist.

The killer beauty phenomenon of Lake Natron

The phenomenon known as the Lake Natron phenomenon is an eerie sight. There you can see petrified statues of birds and even some animals. And these are not man-made sculptures of sculptors, but real birds that have fallen into a deadly trap. Once in the lake, they die almost instantly, and their bodies become covered with minerals, turning into these creepy statues, like pictures from horror films.

The phenomenon of Lake Natron has a scientific explanation. The thing is that the alkalinity of its water is approximately 9–10.5 pH at water temperatures up to 60°C. This is what causes the death of the fauna that end up here. Despite the deadly phenomenon of Lake Natron in Tanzania, several species of inhabitants have somehow managed to take root in it. Among them are unique fish for which the alkaline environment is completely harmless. It’s not for nothing that they are called alkaline telapia.

The ability to kill and turn birds into mineral statues is the most unique and shocking phenomenon of Lake Natron. Photos of these natural statues were first taken by photographer Nick Brandt. He accidentally discovered them during his trip to Africa. His photographs became part of the report. The frozen birds seem alive from a distance, but in fact, having touched the deadly water, they have long since turned to stone. Many who saw these creepy sculptures compared the lake with the mythical River Styx, which leads to the kingdom of the dead.

Flamingo abode phenomenon of Lake Natron in Tanzania

But the Lake Natron phenomenon is not limited to dead sculptures. A lot of small flamingos live here. This is a rather rare species, but Lake Natron is one of the places of their mass accumulation and reproduction. The most beautiful birds are under reliable protection of the waters of the lake, since they build their nests on hillocks of salt located in the middle of the water. It is dangerous for the chicks, who may accidentally fall out of the nest, and it is no less dangerous for predators to get to them.

In 1962, there was a major flood, as a result of which the flamingo population suffered significantly. According to researchers, more than a million eggs were destroyed then. However, visiting these regions now, you can observe about two million flamingos at the same time.

Bloody water phenomenon of Lake Natron photo

The alkalinity in the lake tends to increase due to evaporation. Due to this, some bacteria are activated. Due to their vital activity, the water in the lake turns red from time to time. This type of bacteria includes cyanobacteria. It is able to absorb light during photosynthesis and produce a bright red pigment. This ability gives the water an appropriate tint.

“Bloody water” is another phenomenon of Lake Natron. Indeed, the lake is stunning not only with stone sculptures of birds. True, there is an assumption that in fact the water does not kill the birds, they died a natural death. The fumes simply coated their remains with salt and mineral deposits, causing them to fossilize. And the photographer, who became famous himself and made Lake Natron famous, simply found them on the shore, planted them on branches as if they were alive, in order to give the effect of instant death from touching the water surface. Lake Natron in Tanzania is an incredibly beautiful area with magnificent landscapes, which has no analogues in the world.