Birds turn to stone in Africa's Lake Natron

        
Birds are being turned to stone by the salty waters of Lake Natron in Tanzania, Africa where fish can only survive along the edges where the saline content is somewhat lower.     

Photographer Nick Brandt took images of birds and other animals killed by the lake's high alkaline content.         

Brandt picked up animals that were washed up onto the shore of the lake, and placed them in pre-mortem positions for his photographs. The dead animals, from birds to bats, are preserved, each one turned to stone by the waters of Lake Natron.        

The sole creatures that survive in the lake include a single species of fish, alkaline tilapia and cyanobacteria, which is a type of blue-green algae.       

The lake temperature can rise to 120 degrees (F), which makes it far too hot for any other kind of wildlife to survive there.        

Lake Natron’s pH levels can rise during the dry season to 10.5, which makes the lake extremely corrosive, and contributes to the “stoning” of so many birds and mammals that fall victim to the water.              

This phenomenon is well-shown in the third installment of Brandt’s photo book series, entitled Across the Ravaged Land.