Any Animal That Touches This Lethal Lake Turns to Stone

I thought this was very interesting, I had no idea this was possible. It's kind of like the tar pits but instead looks like a tranquil lake. When searching to see if this had been posted i ran across several threads talking about life starting near this area, I think that is rather strange as well... Enjoy

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.

Photographed by Nick Brandt in his new book, Across the Ravaged Land, petrified creatures pepper the area around the lake due to its constant pH of 9 to 10.5—an extremely basic alkalinity that preserves these creatures for eternity. According to Brandt:

I unexpectedly found the creatures - all manner of birds and bats - washed up along the shoreline of Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. No-one knows for certain exactly how they die, but it appears that the extreme reflective nature of the lake’s surface confuses them, and like birds crashing into plate glass windows, they crash into the lake. The water has an extremely high soda and salt content, so high that it would strip the ink off my Kodak film boxes within a few seconds. The soda and salt causes the creatures to calcify, perfectly preserved, as they dry.

I took these creatures as I found them on the shoreline, and then placed them in ‘living’ positions, bringing them back to ‘life’, as it were. Reanimated, alive again in death.
The rest of the haunting images follow and they feature in Brandt's book, available here. Or, you could go and visit for yourself—but keep a safe distance from the water, please. [New Scientist]

Source at Gizmodo

reply to post by Volund


That is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time! Thanks 4 the share.

tweetybird0428
reply to post by Volund

 

That is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time! Thanks 4 the share.

I couldn't agree more these photos are amazing.
these are the still life in my dreams...

That is absolutely amazing!! Thanks for posting Op, S&F.

I must learn more about this lake! Off to the old search engine, woosh!

-addition-

Wow the lake creates some very cool visuals!


more pics: avaxnews.net...

Also, I found another bit interesting;

The lake’s warm water is an ideal breeding ground for the Rift Valley flamingos.

www.britannica.com...

reply to post by Volund


Straight out of a horror film is right... Omg that is just disturbing as it is intriguing. I do not have much else to say other than nice find OP.

Grim

Very cool. Makes the story in the Bible about Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt more plausible or interesting at least. I believe Sodom and Gomorah were towns along or near the Dead Sea, which is another body of water with high salinity and soda concentrations. Perhaps whatever weapon or power that was used to destroy those towns was capable of causing the same effect, only speeding up the process. Still leaves a lot to be explained, because it happened only when looked at.

But, these pics of posed dead creatures are strange to look at indeed. Thanks for bringing that to us OP.

reply to post by Volund


I wonder if the Medusa myth came from this lake?

reply to post by mcx1942


I wonder how those flamingos survive the deadly effects... (maybe Perseus had a flamingo feather as a good luck charm against Medusa)...



I was just reading that they plan on making a power plant by the lake which will threaten the flamingos, it is estimated to wipe out 75% of them, and they only live in that area, they are fading fast.

Dar es Salaam and Arusha — STUDIES are underway in more than 50 locations in the country in search of sources of electricity generation. The spots include Lake Natron which is believed to have potential in geothermal.

The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Minerals, Mr Eliakim Maswi, told the 'Daily News' that the government is working in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the Lake Natron study.

"We have come to learn that on the other side of the lake, in Kenya, they have power plants. They generate nearly 300MWs. Therefore it is crucial that we initiate a thorough study on our side," he said.

Mr Maswi said that the government was interested in geothermal due to its reliability and sustainability in power generation. "Lake Natron potential in geothermal emanates from the fact that it lies in the Rift Valley but at the moment we have nothing tangible yet. It is just a mere study," Mr Maswi said.

If the study shows positive results, Lake Natron, which is Africa's only breeding area for lesser flamingoes, will become another source of energy. The plan was brought up recently when Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda visited communities in the vicinity of the lake.

Investing in geothermal power plants at Natron will complement the ongoing project to build the Arusha-Musoma highway via Lake Natron shores to tarmac level. The roadwork, according to the PM are expected to commence in November.

The area around Lake Natron is said to be highly potential for geothermal power. It is dotted with a number of geysers and underground hot water springs originating from huge rock piles that form the entire landscape of the semi-arid area.

Lake Natron is located at the base of O'ldoinyo L'engai, which is Tanzania's third highest mountain with an active volcano that is on record for erupting frequently. Geothermal power is reported to be more sustainable than hydro-electricity due to the fact that heat extraction in the process is quite small compared with the earth's globe heat content.

According to experts here, the emission intensity of any existing geothermal electric tapping plant averages at 122 kilos of Carbon Dioxide per Mega-watt hour of electricity which is equivalent to just one-eighth of a conventional coal-fired plant.

Recent geological studies indicate that at least 20 warm, saline springs with temperatures ranging between 32 and 52 degrees centigrade occur along the shore of Lake Natron, a large hyper-saline lake measuring over 200 square kilometres though rather shallow at just one meter deep.

Overall Tanzania has geothermal potential of 650 megawatts, discovered in the Northern and Southern highlands and its exploitation will reportedly help the country, which relies on hydropower to alleviate electricity shortages. Geothermal energy is renewable, indigenous, clean and safe.

Source AllAfrica.com

Justification
This species is classified as Near Threatened because populations appear to be undergoing a moderately rapid decline. Proposed large-scale soda ash extraction at Lake Natron, the most important breeding colony, although currently on hold, would be disastrous for this species and, were this to happen, the species may qualify for uplisting to a higher threat category.

Taxonomic source(s)
AERC TAC. 2003. AERC TAC Checklist of bird taxa occurring in Western Palearctic region, 15th Draft. Available at: www.aerc.eu... _the_WP15.xls.
Cramp, S.; Perrins, C. M. 1977-1994. Handbook of the birds of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The birds of the western Palearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Dowsett, R. J.; Forbes-Watson, A. D. 1993. Checklist of birds of the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions. Tauraco Press, Li
Sibley, C. G.; Monroe, B. L. 1990. Distribution and taxonomy of birds of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Source birdlife.org

Much thanks for sharing, don't believe I heard of this before. Reminds me of something out of the Return to Oz.

mcx1942
That is absolutely amazing!! Thanks for posting Op, S&F.

I must learn more about this lake! Off to the old search engine, woosh!

-addition-

Wow the lake creates some very cool visuals!

more pics: avaxnews.net...

Also, I found another bit interesting;

The lake’s warm water is an ideal breeding ground for the Rift Valley flamingos.

www.britannica.com...

edit on 10/1/2013 by mcx1942 because: add a bit

Thx for the S&F's everyone

There are some amazing images around the web, looks like an alien planet!



More pics at Avaxsnews.net

It would really be cool, if they find remains of any large creature.

The photo's show animals that aren't that big. They do look like the are frozen in time, so it must happen pretty fast.

Cool find !

reply to post by Volund


Very cool thanks for posting


this little guy looks sooo evil lol

It's a little creepy in a Dahmer like way that he took and posed them to take the pics but the out come is breath taking!

I have never heard of this before now! S&F to you OP! Awesome indeed. I think we forget what exists here by trying to find out what exists "up there". When I see things like this it makes me wonder (in a fanciful way) if the answer to "what's up there" is hidden in "what's down here".

Something to ponder on for sure!

Thank you for sharing this! It's been a while since I've read something that really rekindled my imagination. Makes you wonder what other weird stuff we don't know about yet.

This smacks of punishment of biblical proportions.

Not to fan the birther (BO born in Kenya) flames but Kenya seems to be hitting the MSM and the conspiracy sites more than it should for what it is.

Maybe this is a bad omen.

I have a few ex-girlfriends I wouldnt mind throwing in this lake.

reply to post by solarstorm


Then call it Medusa Lake?

I really wish the article gave more information about well.....the topic of the article.

Since the animals are posed for the photos, I really have no idea what is going on here.

The lake obviously isn't deadly, since flamingos use it...... I think the article is misleading. It seems like animals that die near the lake, covered in the water, end up calcifying instead of rotting over time.

Certainly isn't anything close to what the article tries to make it seem - as if animals are coming into contact with the lake, and turning to stone.

reply to post by Volund


Oh man... I would love one of these on my coffee table!

I am going to have to keep my eye out for the publication in which photographs like this are bound!

reply to post by Volund


Well I thought this was a joke but there were pictures!