Get to Know Lake Natron
Fringed by salt-encrusted flats and black volcanic protrusions, this remote and brooding 1,040-square-kilometre soda lake lies below the active volcano Ol Doinyo Lengai.
Among the most primal and inhospitable of African landscapes, Lake Natron is a shallow sliver of hyper-alkaline water best known as the primary nursing ground for East Africa’s 2.5 million lesser flamingos. The southern lakeshore is towered over by the volcanic Ol Doinyo Lengai, the Maasai ‘Mountain of God’.
The landmark rises from the low-lying Rift Valley floor to an altitude of 2,960 metres, its harsh black contours softened, in a bizarre parody of the snows of Kilimanjaro, by a glistening layer of fine white volcanic ash. Better known for its scenery than its limited wildlife, Lake Natron is quite good for birding, as the shallows host a profusion of waders and other waterbirds.