Furthermore, as morbidly beautiful as Lake Natron’s mummies can be, they aren’t truly calcified, but rather coated with a sodium carbonate or bicarbonate solution. As a matter of fact, the people living near the lake have reported that certain birds and bats have actually crashed into the water (probably confusing it with the sky), and probably died from the crash. There are still plenty of animals that did not have any problem venturing in its waters. Let it be noted, however, that Lake Natron’s harsh conditions do no turn any animals that touch it into stone, but only the ones that are not adapted to them. The lake, with its incredible properties (which can be explained by its chemical make-up: the alkalinity varies between pH 9 and pH 10.5) has preserved these creatures. I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in ‘living’ positions, bringing them back to ‘life’, as it were. The soda and salt causes the creatures to calcify, perfectly preserved, as they dry. The water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds. I unexpectedly found the creatures – all manner of birds and bats – washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. It’s 35 miles long from north to south, and 14. In northern Tanzania, just next to Kenya, lies the beautiful, and notorious Lake Natron. Its beauty comes with a price, though: most creatures that drink from the lake will end up dead. The calcified animals were found by National Geographic photographer Nick Brandt, who supposedly found the dead animals floating around in the water, or washed up on the shore. With its bright red and orange colors, Lake Natron is definitely one of Tanzania’s most spectacular sights. The stone that we were talking about earlier is actually a chemical process to which the animals were subjected (much like Egyptian mummification). The internet has a funny way of taking a story and transforming it into something completely fake, so before you read on, we urge you to check out this article, where the process of preservation and the ecosystem of the Natron Lake is explained. Ok, it’s not really stone, but something very similar. Lake Natron may be beautiful, but it seems that it holds a deadly secret: it turns animals that touch it into stone. You might have seen them circulating on the internet, and if you didn’t, we will share them with you. Have you ever heard about Lake Natron? It is one of the most serene lakes in all Africa, but it is also the source of some truly eerie photographs.
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