Lake Natron, Tanzania: A Complete Travel Guide

This magnificent location is located approximately north east of the Ngorongoro Crater and is part of Africa’s vast Great Rift Valley. Lake Natron lies amongst undulating volcanic hills and vast craters. It is at the lowest point of the rift valley – 600m above sea level. It is perhaps the most caustic body of water in the world.

Lake Natron is a salt or soda lake, located not far from Lake Manyara in northern Tanzania. It lies in the Gregory Rift, the eastern arm of the East African Rift. The lake is at the foot of Ol Doinyo Lengai, an active volcano.

Lake Natron is very shallow (less than three meters deep) and its breadth varies with water level. The lake measures 57 kms in length and 22 kms in width. Rainfall is erratic in its seasonality and occurs largely between December and May. At the lake the temperatures are often above 40 ° C.

In the lake, the fresh water evaporates and leaves behind water with high quantities of salt minerals, like sodium and trona. The lake’s alkalinity is such that its pH can exceed 12. This habitat is home to special bacteria and blue algae, which are perfect nesting grounds for avian life. Such halophilic creatures include certain cyano bacteria that, like plants, make their own food by photosynthesis. That red pigment in those cyano bacteria is what creates the deep red colours of the lake’s waters and the orange colours in the shallow areas.” The salt-loving bacteria that live on the surface of the lake give the crust of alkali salts a red or pink colour.