“You’d literally get, say, a hundred finches washed ashore in a 50-yard stretch. The rate of evaporation of Lake Natron is very high, and this leads to the high level of natron that is left within the lake. I saw entire flocks of dead birds all washed ashore together, lemming-like,” he says. During dry season, Brandt discovered, when the water recedes, the birds’ desiccated, chemically-preserved carcasses wash up along the coastline. Brandt theorizes that the highly-reflective, chemical dense waters act like a glass door, fooling birds into thinking they’re flying through empty space (not long ago, a helicopter pilot tragically fell victim to the same illusion, and his crashed aircraft was rapidly corroded by the lake’s waters). A swallow © Nick Brandt 2013, Courtesy of Hasted Kraeutler Gallery, NYĪs you might expect, few creatures live in the harsh waters, which can reach 140 degrees Fahreinheit-they’re home to just a single fish species ( Alcolapia latilabris), some algae and a colony of flamingos that feeds on the algae and breeds on the shore.įrequently, though, migrating birds crash into the lake’s surface.

What happens if you swim in lake natron