First, the lake has a distinctive, bright red color, and it gets that from a flourishing community of algae. Because of that, it's hard to imagine that anything can live in this lake. Any animal corpses unfortunate enough to land in the water end up mummified in a coat of minerals, and touching it is seriously painful for humans. The lake's temperature has been known to hit sixty (60) degrees Celsius. Depending on the conditions, its pH can be higher than 10 - that's a thousand times more basic than pure water. The water is alkaline - sometimes very alkaline. Tanzania's Lake Natron isn't exactly a pleasant place for a swim. Looking for SciShow elsewhere on the internet? Ashmore, Piya Shedden, Sam Lutfi, Charles George, Christoph Schwanke, Greg, Lehel Kovacs, Bd_Tmprd Kevin Bealer, Jacob, Katie Marie Magnone, Charles Southerland, Eric Jensen, Christopher R Boucher, Alex Hackman, Matt Curls, Adam Brainard, Jeffrey McKishen, Scott Satovsky Jr, James Knight, Sam Buck, Chris Peters, Kevin Carpentier, Patrick D. Huge thanks go to the following Patreon supporters for helping us keep SciShow free for everyone forever:

Support SciShow by becoming a patron on Patreon: SciShow has a spinoff podcast! It's called SciShow Tangents. But some creatures have evolved amazing adaptations that help them survive and thrive in this alkaline lake. With its caustic red waters, Lake Natron doesnâ€™t seem like the ideal place to call home.

What happens if you go in lake natron