A shallow soda lake in northern Tanzania running over pH 12 and frequently above 40 C, with some water reaching 60. Sodium carbonate concentrated by evaporation means the lake will calcify the body of anything that dies in it, which is where the famous photographs of stone-looking birds come from; they are real, and they are animals that died and were preserved, not animals turned to stone alive. The same chemistry is why it matters: about 2.5 million lesser flamingos breed here, the only regular breeding site in East Africa, and three quarters of the world’s lesser flamingos are born on this water because nothing that would eat their eggs can cross it. Ramsar listed in 2001, and under pressure from proposed soda ash extraction and hydroelectric schemes. Campgrounds nearby, also the base for climbing Ol Doinyo Lengai.
Ngorongoro District, Tanzania
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