The lake in Tanzania that turns animals to stone

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:00]In northern Tanzania, there is a lake that turns animals to stone. It's called Lake Natron. From above, the water glows blood red. The pH is over 10, almost as caustic as household ammonia. The temperature regularly hits 140° F. When birds, bats, or small mammals land on the surface and don't escape, they're slowly preserved by the chemistry. Their bodies harden, calcified, frozen mid-motion as if turned to stone.

[00:00:23]Scientists once thought this killed the wildlife. It doesn't. Lake Natron is home to over 2 and 1/2 million lesser flamingos, the largest breeding colony on Earth. They thrive where almost nothing else can survive, one of the strangest places on the planet. Follow for more videos like this.