Originally posted in the shoutbox by pyromaniac123, who was too lazy to make a proper thread that I believe it deserves. So here goes.
Lake Natron in northern Tanzania is a curious little piece of Hell on Earth. As the name implies, Lake Natron is the world's largest glass of antacid. Boiling antacid. Fed sodium carbonate by several mineral-rich hot springs in the area, in the middle of a desert, less than 3 meters (10 feet) deep, it's a giant salt evaporation pool. Temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), and depending on rainfall, the alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5 (i.e. a lot). The only lifeforms that can survive there (apart from a tiny species of fish) are single celled organisms that turn the water a lovely shade of red. A salt crust floats on the surface in the shallow parts.
Hell.
It is here that the photographer Nick Brandt took the following photos.
Neat.
A source.
Another source.
Lake Natron in northern Tanzania is a curious little piece of Hell on Earth. As the name implies, Lake Natron is the world's largest glass of antacid. Boiling antacid. Fed sodium carbonate by several mineral-rich hot springs in the area, in the middle of a desert, less than 3 meters (10 feet) deep, it's a giant salt evaporation pool. Temperatures up to 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), and depending on rainfall, the alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5 (i.e. a lot). The only lifeforms that can survive there (apart from a tiny species of fish) are single celled organisms that turn the water a lovely shade of red. A salt crust floats on the surface in the shallow parts.
Hell.
It is here that the photographer Nick Brandt took the following photos.
Neat.
A source.
Another source.
