

What is the story of the pictures of the stone models?

In 2013, wildlife photographer Rick Brandt snapped pictures of dead birds that looked like stone models, and despite some media reports describing the lake as turning birds into stone models, these birds did not die and turn into stones after coming into contact with the lake's water directly, in Indeed, alkaline waters of Lake Natron supports ecosystem thriving salt marshes, land wetlands, freshwater, a flamingos Flamingoes) suitable environment (and other birds that live in wet land, which is also a suitable environment for tilapia and algae fed by large flocks of Flamingos. The fact that birds transform into stone models at the lake Lake Natrun is one of two alkaline lakes in that region of East Africa, the other lake is Bahi Lake, and both are terminal lakes that do not flow into any river or sea, except that they are fed by hot springs and small rivers, and Lake Natron is a very shallow lake that does not increase Its depth is about 3 meters, and its width varies according to the water level, which changes due to high evaporation rates, which increases the concentration of salts and minerals, and due to the presence of shallow lakes in a hot climate, their water temperature can reach 41 degrees Celsius. The alkalinity of the water comes from sodium carbonate and other minerals that flow To the lake from the surrounding hills, and the active volcano near the lake, which spews a rare type of lava rich in sodium and potassium carbonate (Natron), and releases it into the water, and this mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate is the main component that was used in the embalming of the ancient Egyptians, This made the lake like a pool of substances that keep the bodies of living things from decomposing. Lake Natron is located in northern Tanzania, near the border with Kenya, and the lake contains alkaline water with a high pH of 10.5, which is so caustic that it can burn the skin and eyes of animals that do not adapt to it.
