See Lake That Turns Animals to Stone

Lake Natron in Tanzania is one of the most serene lakes in
Africa, but it's also the source of some of the most
phantasmagorical photographs ever captured — images that
look as though living animals had instantly turned to
stone.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 aren't adapted to it. The water's alkalinity
comes from the sodium carbonate and other minerals that
flow into the lake from the surrounding hills. And deposits
of sodium carbonate — which was once used in Egyptian
mummification — also acts as a fantastic type of
preservative for those animals unlucky enough to die in the
waters of Lake Natron.
Despite some media reports, the animal didn't simply turn
to stone and die after coming into contact with the lake's
water. In fact, Lake Natron's alkaline waters support a
thriving ecosystem of salt marshes, freshwater wetlands,
flamingos and other wetland birds, tilapia and the algae on
which large flocks of flamingos feed. Now, photographer
Nick Brandt has captured haunting images of the lake and its
dead in a book titled "Across the Ravaged Land" (Abrams
Books, 2013).
Brandt discovered the remains of flamingos and other
animals with chalky sodium carbonate deposits outlining
their bodies in sharp relief. "I unexpectedly found the
creatures — all manner of birds and bats — washed up
along the shoreline of Lake Natron," Brandt wrote in his
book. "No one knows for certain exactly how they die, but
… 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 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," Brandt wrote, referring to the way he
repositioned the animals. "Reanimated, alive again in
death."
During breeding season, more than 2 million lesser
flamingos (Phoenicopterus minor) use the shallow lake as
their primary breeding ground in Africa. The flamingos'
nests are built on small islands that form in the lake during
the dry season.
Lake Natron is one of two alkaline lakes in that area of East
Africa; the other is Lake Bahi. Both are terminal lakes that
do not drain out to any river or sea; they are fed by hot
springs and small rivers. As shallow lakes in a hot climate,
their water temperatures can reach as high as 106 degrees
Fahrenheit (41 degrees Celsius).
The serenity of Lake Natron — and its flamingo population
— are threatened by a proposed hydroelectric power plant
on the Ewaso Ngiro River, the main river feeding the lake.
As isolated as the lake is (it wasn't even discovered by
Europeans until 1954), there are no protections in place for
the lake or its threatened flamingo population.