Lake Natron, located in Tanzania, Africa, is one of the most beautiful lakes in Tanzania, with serene views and a peaceful stillness not found in many places on earth. However, this beautiful lake holds a deadly secret: it is virtually uninhabitable for all living creatures except for a few salt-dwelling bacteria and small fish. The lake has an alkaline composition similar to ammonia. The incredibly salty lake can reach temperatures of up to 60C. This gave photographer Nick Brandt the opportunity to capture the lake’s deadly mystery through the lens of his camera, and what he shared is horrifying.
“No one knows exactly how these animals die, but it seems that the extreme reflective nature of the lake surface confuses them, causing them to fall into the lake,” Brandt writes in his new photo book Across the Ravaged Land. “The water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would wash the ink off my Kodak film boxes in seconds. The soda and salt cause the creatures to calcify, preserving perfectly when they dry out.”
The conditions are so terrible that animals that have died on the shores of the lake have become completely calcified, turning into stately mummies. It literally turns any animal it touches to stone. The photographer came across the birds as he was working to capture the majesty of Africa’s vanishing wildlife. The birds were left in pristine condition, except that the photographer rearranged them to take better shots.
Calcified Fish Eagle
Calcified Caped Dove
Calcified flamingo reflected in a mirrored lake
Calcified Bat
Calcified Swallow
Calcified Songbird
Calcified Swallow On A Perch
Calcified Bat II
This extremely rare phenomenon is caused by the chemical composition of the lake. The alkalinity of Lake Natron fluctuates between pH 9 and 10.5, causing it to burn the skin and eyes of animals when they get too close to the water, leaving behind these terrifying depictions.
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