Lake Natron
나트론 호수
Lake Natron in northern Tanzania is a shallow soda lake whose water is extremely salty, strongly alkaline (it can pass pH 12) and often hotter than 40 °C. Its red and orange colours come from tiny salt-loving microbes, and because few other animals can live here, about 2.5 million lesser flamingos raise their chicks safely on its mudflats. The rumour that it turns animals to stone began with photographer Nick Brandt, who found birds that had already died and been preserved by the salty water and posed them as if alive; the lake does not turn living animals into stone.
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- Tanzania
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- Mysteries
Quick answers
Where is Lake Natron?
Lake Natron is in Tanzania.
Lake Natron is a very salty, very alkaline lake in northern Tanzania, with its northern tip reaching into Kenya. It lies in the Gregory Rift, part of the East African Rift, and is a Ramsar wetland of international importance. The lake is up to 57 km long and 22 km wide, but shallow, usually less than three metres deep.
Hot mineral springs and a river feed the lake, and strong evaporation leaves behind natron and trona, which are forms of soda. Its water can be more alkaline than pH 12, and temperatures are often above 40 degrees Celsius. Red microbes colour the water deep red and orange. In spite of this, it is the main breeding site in East Africa for lesser flamingos.
A harsh lake
Lava rocks around the lake are rich in sodium and carbonate but low in calcium and magnesium, so the water turns into a caustic brine. In the dry season, the water level drops and the salt gets stronger, and salt-loving microbes called halophiles thrive. Some, like cyanobacteria, make their food by photosynthesis, and their red pigment turns the open water deep red. The water is known to calcify the bodies of animals that die in it.
Flamingos at home
Few animals can live in the hot, caustic water, but the lake does have specialised algae, small animals and birds. About 2.5 million lesser flamingos breed here. The lake is their only regular breeding place in East Africa, which is one reason the species is listed as near threatened. Few predators can cross the caustic mud to reach their nests.
Fun facts
- The water can be more alkaline than pH 12.
- Red microbes turn the open water deep red.
- About 2.5 million lesser flamingos breed here.
On the globe
Look for northern Tanzania near the Kenyan border, in the East African Rift.
Nearby on the globe
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14