सोमवार, 5 नवंबर 2018

Lake Natron Where Birds instantly turn into stones




Lake That Turns Animals to Stone? Not Quite
The body of a flamingo on Lake Natron, as captured by photographer Rick Brandt.
Credit: © Nick Brandt 2013 Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NY
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). [Photos: Lake Natron Gives Up Its Dead]

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