The area around the lake offers different attractions such as many volcanic implosion craters, numerous waterfalls, and ravines with nesting places for Rüppell’s Griffon Vultures. The surface of Lake Natron, which has high salt, magnesite, and sodium carbonate concentration, is covered with a pinkish-white soda crust. The shallow and alkaline lake has different springs, the Ewaso Ng’iro River, and different hot springs. Lake Natron covers an area 56 km (35 miles) long and 24 km (15 miles) wide, but the water level changes due to evaporation. The lake is in the vicinity of Ol Doinyo Lengai, which is visible in the southern part. The nests of the Flamingos are built on small islands that form in the lake during the dry season.Lake Natron is situated in northern Tanzania on the border with Kenya, close to the Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. The alkalinity of the water comes from sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow from the active volcano, Ol Doinyo Lengai.Īlthough it has the most alkaline waters, Lake Natron supports the ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands, flamingos, and other wetland birds whose bodies are adapted to such pH levels.īesides this, over 2 million lesser flamingos use the shallow lake as their primary breeding ground in Africa during the breeding season.

It's so caustic that it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that are not adapted to it. Lake Natron is known to be one of the most inhospitable sites for the majority of fauna on the continent of Africa. The alkaline water in Lake Natron has a pH as high as 10.5, and the temperature can reach up to 60 ☌.

The color varies from orange to red, to pink, and is produced by salt-loving microorganisms called halophiles, that thrive in its salty waters – the vermillion shade is even more stunning at the end of the dry season when the water level is particularly low. Its rare red color makes Natron Lake a very unique and beautiful destination. Over time, as water evaporates, it leaves behind high concentrations of salt and other minerals, such as the Dead Sea and Utah Great Salt Lake. Both are terminal lakes - which means that the water flows in, but it doesn't flow out, so it can only escape through evaporation. Lake Natron is one of the two alkaline lakes in East Africa the other is Lake Bahi.

What is lake natron