Nonetheless, Lake Natron is home to some endemic algae, invertebrates, and birds. Most animals find the lake's high temperature (up to 60 ☌ ) and its high and variable salt content inhospitable. Salt marshes and freshwater wetlands around the edges of the lake do support a variety of plants. The alkali salt crust on the surface of the lake is also often coloured red or pink by the salt-loving microorganisms that live there. The red accessory photosynthesizing pigment in the cyanobacteria produces the deep reds of the open water of the lake and the orange colours of the shallow parts of the lake. Such halophile organisms include some cyanobacteria that make their own food with photosynthesis as plants do. As water evaporates during the dry season, salinity levels increase to the point that salt-loving microorganisms begin to thrive. The colour of the lake is characteristic of those where very high evaporation rates occur. įlora are plants in their natural environment. This has allowed the lake to concentrate into a caustic alkaline brine. The lavas have significant amounts of carbonate but very low calcium and magnesium levels. The surrounding bedrock is composed of alkaline, sodium-dominated trachyte lavas that were laid down during the Pleistocene period. The alkalinity of the lake can reach a pH of greater than 12. High levels of evaporation have left behind natron ( sodium carbonate decahydrate) and trona (sodium sesquicarbonate dihydrate). Temperatures at the lake are frequently above 40 ☌ (104 ☏). The surrounding area receives irregular seasonal rainfall, mainly between December and May totalling 800 millimetres (31 in) per year. The lake is a maximum of 57 kilometres (35 mi) long and 22 kilometres (14 mi) wide. It is quite shallow, less than three metres (9.8 ft) deep, and varies in width depending on its water level. The lake is fed principally by the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River, which rises in central Kenya, and by mineral-rich hot springs. Numerous near-white salt-crust 'rafts' pepper the shallowest parts of the lake (inset). Fault scarps and the Gelai Volcano can also be seen. Campsites at Lake Nakuru include Back Packers, Makalia Campsite, Reedbuck Campsite, Naishi Campsite, Rhino Campsite, Chui Campsite, Soysambu Campsite, Kambi Nyuki Campsite, Kambi Nyati Campsite, Acacia Picnic Site, Baboon Cliff, Out of Africa, and Pelican Picnic Site.The southern half of Lake Natron (top). Some of the lodges include KWS Self Catering, Naishi Guest House, Lake Nakuru Lodge, and Sarova Lion Hill Lodge. Some are within the park, and others are outside the park just a few kilometers away. The Lake Nakuru region has outstanding and well-facilitated accommodations. The lodges and camps here both organize local excursions. Getting around the park to the lake itself is difficult without private transport. Several hotels can arrange transport to/from Nairobi. There is an airstrip in Nakuru which offers charter flights. The Nakuru-Nairobi highway passes through Naivasha by Lake Elmenteita and Gilgil on the way. Nakuru is only a 2-hour drive from Nairobi. The main road access to Lake Nakuru is from Nakuru town or Nairobi by bus/matatu or private transport. Lake Nakuru is debatably the most renowned among Kenya’s Rift Valley lakes and one of the prime African parks on the planet, with its alkaline waters fringed at times by more thousands of flamingos. In 2013, the lake received an alarming increase in the water levels that led to the migration of flamingos to Lake Bogoria in search of food supply. The lake’s level dropped intensely in the early 1990s but has since largely recovered. Since its gazetting as a national park, both authorities and conservation organizations have won the battle against private property and human settlings, further broadening the park limits in 19 to its current extension of 188 sq. In 1964 the sanctuary included the whole lake, with an area that fluctuates from 5 sq. With the support of the World Wildlife Fund, Kenya’s Government launched a scheme to purchase the adjacent grounds to widen the protected area. The park was gazetted in 1968, but since 1961 there was a bird sanctuary at the lake’s south sector. The vast flocks of birds are slowly but surely diminishing or fleeing to other more unspoiled soda lakes. Unfortunately, things are no longer like Peterson saw them since the lake’s ecosystem feels the human pressure. American ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson, who initiated modern environmentalism, defined the lake as “ the greatest bird spectacle on earth”.

How to survive lake natron