In short, probably the most metal place you could ever visit. Its surrounded by huge cliffs and old volcanic craters, and is actually pretty much in a shadow of an active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai. (Theres a disney+ documentary about flamingos, specifically at this lake, if you want to learn more)Īnd its a dead lake (broadly speaking).

Its a massively popular breeding ground for flamingos. The locals/guides told us that you have to spend a long time in it if its not the dry season to suffer any health effects, but its not very popular for any locals to swim in because its often way too warm to be comfortable to swim around in.ĭuring the dry season the lake shrinks dramatically and turns a very vivid red colour, due to the algae and (I think) very small shrimp in the lake. Unless its the dry season (when most of the water evaporates and the alkaline minerals and whatnot get super concentrated), its totally fine to hang around in the water. Live Science describes the dead animals as having “chalky sodium carbonate deposits outlining their bodies.I’ve actually been to Tanzania and have waded through this lake! Some cool things about it. “A calcified flamingo, preserved by the highly basic waters of Tanzania’s Lake Natron and photographed by Nick Brandt,” reads National Geographic’s caption of one of the photos included in the Facebook post.

The photographs included in the post were taken by photographer Nick Brandt in 2013, who collected the animal carcasses around the lake’s shoreline and posed them for the pictures, the outlet reported. The dead animals in the photos were not instantly turned to stone by the lake, but rather became calcified due to the characteristics of the lake, according to National Geographic.

“Any animal which touches the lake turns into stone.” (RELATED: Does This Image Show A Heart-Shaped Pond In Zimbabwe?) “Natron Lake in Tanzania is the most (sic) deadliest place for animals,” reads text included in the image. The image shows what appears to be the petrified remains of two birds sitting on a body of water. An image shared on Facebook claims it turns any animal that touches it to stone. Lake Natron in Tanzania is a saltwater lake with a pH of 10.5 (nearly as high as that of ammonia) and temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Natron lake petrified animals imgur