This lake turns animals to stone

Lake Natron in Tanzania can turn animals to stone. Its water reaches pH 10.5, as alkaline as ammonia, and temperatures of 60°C. Fed by volcanic ash from Ol Doinyo Lengai, it is rich in sodium carbonate. Animals that die in its shallows are preserved and calcified, coated in white crust. Yet it is a paradise for lesser flamingos, who build nests on salt islands safe from predators and feed on spirulina algae that thrives there. Photographer Nick Brandt's famous images show calcified bats and birds, nature's eerie statues around a caustic nursery.