Deadly lake turns animals into statues (6 pictures)
Any animal that touches Lake Natron turns to stone.
Temperatures in the lake can reach 60 °C, and its alkalinity is between pH 9 and pH 10.5. The lake takes its name from natron, a naturally occurring compound made mainly of sodium carbonate, with a bit of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) thrown in. Animals that become immersed in the water die and are calcified.
Photographer Nick Brandt explains why it happens:
