Geek out with the latest in science and weather. (Photos courtesy: Nick Brandt/ Hasted Kraeutler Gallery) Cras, dapibus ac facilisis in, meet head chef - Donte Owens. These birds, along with greater flamingos, nest in the area every year, and it's the red algae they eat that give these birds their vibrant pink colour. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that arent adapted to it. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. The environment supports salt-loving microorganisms and algae, two species of fish known as alkaline tilapia live in the waters near the lake's hot springs, and the lake is the only breeding area in eastern African for the lesser flamingo. The waters can reach temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The waters alkalinity comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. There are salt marshes and wetlands around the lake's shores. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5 and is so caustic it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that arent adapted to it.
In fact, whereas a lake that actually petrified anything that came near it or touched the water would likely be a complete dead-zone for birds and animals, life thrives around Lake Natron.
The 'stony' look about them just comes from the the salts and sodas in the natron caking onto their skin and feathers. However, these animals are simply dying near the lake, their bodies get covered with a layer of natron, which dries them out and preserves them. In Lake Natron high evaporation rates and salinity of the water have influenced halophytic life in the lake.
This is what creates things like petrified wood and dinosaur fossils. The colour of Lake Natron is characteristic of lakes in which evaporation rate is high and where organisms that thrive in areas with high salinity levels live. When a body becomes truly petrified, its cells are slowly replaced over time by rock.
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