Friday, 4 October 2013

Any Animal That Touches This Lethal Lake Turns to Stone

image credit: Roger Meyer cc

There's a deceptively still body of water in Tanzania with a deadly secret - it turns any animal it touches to stone. The rare phenomenon is caused by the chemical makeup of the lake, but the petrified creatures it leaves behind are straight out of a horror film.

Lake Natron is fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River and also by mineral-rich hot springs. It is quite shallow, less than three metres (9.8 ft) deep, and varies in width depending on its water level, which changes due to high levels of evaporation, leaving behind a mixture of salts and minerals called natron.

(thanks Michael and Stanley)

2 comment(s):

Marcheline said...

Holy cats. The photos on the lake link... they're haunting! And beautiful, in a dead animal carcass sort of way.

High Power Rocketry said...

This isn't really true. Any animal that dies and falls into the water is somewhat preserved by the salt. The same thing happens in dry environments, deep in lakes, or at high elevation on mountains.