![]() ![]() During the Pleistocene period, a rare type of lava rich in sodium and potassium carbonates ran down the slopes of the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano and into the lake. ![]() It’s fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River in Kenya. This shallow but wide lake is just three metres deep but 22km wide. Tanzania has no less than four alkaline lakes, but Lake Natron is the most famous. Lake Natron is a hypersaline and highly alkaline lake located in the eastern section of the volatile East African Rift. In North Tanzania, a unique inland lake turns wildlife to stone. That’s a legend, but a natural wonder in Africa today does just that. The leading cause of fatalities at the Blue Hole is nitrogen narcosis, which can cause mental and physical impairment when the body is subjected to high pressure.We all know about the Greek monster Medusa, whose deadly gaze turned men to stone. It is easy for under-prepared divers to miss this archway and lose all sense of direction, eventually running out of air. The sinkhole is connected to the open ocean through an archway at about 65km. It is most dangerous when inexperienced divers dive beyond the sport-diving limit. There are over two million people living along Lake Kivu.Ī gaping sinkhole that drops straight down over 100m, the Blue Hole in Dahab is one of Egypt’s most infamous dive sites. In order to prevent another catastrophic eruption, the government turned to this methane as a source of energy, and tap this source of gas before it explodes. The waters of this Rwandan lake are almost saturated with methane and carbon dioxide, caused by a series of limnic eruptions, or lake explosions. One of Africa’s Great Lakes, Lake Kivu also emits a cocktail of deadly gases. The Horseshoe Lake emits roughly 50-150 tons of carbon dioxide per day. The lake also has certain amounts of hydrogen sulphide, which give it a characteristic rotten egg smell. While safe for the most part, the lake has documented some fatalities due to the gas. There are warning signs around the lake since the levels of carbon dioxide fluctuate not only over the lake, but also in the area around it, depending on the depressions in the ground. A series of earthquakes between 19 opened paths for carbon dioxide to escape from the magma below, resulting in the dead trees. The caustic salt-loving algae give the lake an eerie red hue.ĭozens of acres of dead trees surround the Horseshoe Lake in California, making it a great spot for picnics and hiking. ![]() It can reach temperatures as high as 140☏ (60☌). The natron chemical in the lake is a mixture of sodium carbonate and baking soda and is in enough concentration to calcify the lake’s visiting fauna. The water is extremely alkaline and it’s pH is almost as high as that of ammonia. ![]() As a consequence, as the water evaporates, it leaves behind high concentrations of salt-making it a salt lake, like the Dead Sea. Water flows into the lake, but doesn’t have an outlet to drain out of. The extreme waters of Tanzania’s Lake Natron are as deadly as they are beautiful. But if you’re looking for a slightly less-thrilling day at the lake, feel free to dip your toes or swim around the opening to Texas’ second largest fully submerged cave. Only researchers with proper permits are allowed to explore the depths of Jacob’s Well, due to its high fatality rate. About 6,000ft of passages have been documented going down to well till date. The elaborate network of underwater caves stretching endlessly down the well plunge over 100ft down. The stifling Texas heat makes Jacob’s Well a welcome escape to divers to jump into its cool, deep waters-some, to their deaths. Needless to say, jumping into this misty wonder is not a great idea, unless severe burns sounds like a good time. Nick-named the Boiling Lake, this lake is a far cry from cool and breezy, in fact, it’s almost boiling hot.įuelled by the lava underneath, this flooded fumarole (a crack or a hole in the Earth's crust), has a bubbling maelstrom of water in the centre and emanates a thick cloud of steam, which ominously surrounds it. There are many mountain lakes atop the Watt Mountain in Morne Trois Pitons National Park, but there’s one that’s quite unlike the rest. ![]()
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