What is the mystery? "Lake of blood" that turns animals into "stone"

In the Rift Valley and at the foot of the Gelai volcano in Africa, there is a large basin whose high salinity allows only a few species to survive.

The idea of ??a lake that instantly turns animals to stone sounds like something out of Greek mythology, but in fact this very special phenomenon occurs in Lake Natron in Tanzania, which is one of the deadliest lakes in the world. It is a very important space for the mating of flamingos, which are less endangered.

During the rainy season, the pond fills with water, but later high temperatures cause intense evaporation. Only a few bacteria live there, rich in red pigment, which intensely colors the water, giving a fantastic appearance.

Lake Natron is very shallow, the depth varies from 1.5 to 3 meters. The temperature of the water reaches up to 50 and even 60 ° C. The content of sodium salts in the lake waters is very high. In the hottest months (February and March) the water also becomes thick because of this. These conditions favor the activity of halophilic cyanobacteria living in Lake Natron, due to whose pigment the water has a blood-red color. However, the shade of the water changes depending on the season and depth – the lake can be orange or red, and sometimes it looks like an ordinary pond.

Soda waters in Tanzania are a real danger. Due to the high level of alkali water, frozen salt leads to severe burns if a person, an animal or a bird is immersed in the lake. This is exactly how many birds have died. Their bodies are then hardened and mummified, being covered with mineral substances.

These peculiarities of this lake are also related to Ol Doinyo Lengai, known as the "Mountain of God", which is the only active volcano that emits sodium carbonate.