NASA Earth Observatory images by Joshua Stevens, using Landsat data from the U.S. And when the waters recede during the dry season, flamingos favor the area as a nesting site, as it is mostly protected from predators by the perennial moat-like channels and pools of water. Small, salty pools of water can fill with blooms of haloarchaea-salt-loving microorganisms that impart the pink and red colors to the shallow water. While the environment is too harsh for most common types of life, there are some species that take advantage of it. The mixture moves through the ground via a system of faults and wells up in more than 20 hot springs that ultimately empty into the lake. Volcanoes, such as Ol Doinyo Lengai (about 20 kilometers to the south), produce molten mixtures of sodium carbonate and calcium carbonate salts. Evaporation usually exceeds that amount, so the lake relies on other sources-such as the Ewaso Ng’iro River at the north end-to maintain a supply of water through the dry season.īut it’s the region’s volcanism that leads to the lake’s unusual chemistry. In a non-El Niño year, the lake receives less than 500 millimeters (20 inches) of rain. In these images, you can see the deepest water along the perimeter of the lake bed, the location of lower-elevation lagoons. They show the lake on March 6, 2017, very early in the rainy season that runs from March to May. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured these natural-color images of Lake Natron and its surroundings. The lake is mostly inhospitable to life, except for a few species adapted to its warm, salty, and alkaline water.īut you don’t need to visit the lake in person to see its stunning, seasonal color. American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erthror-hynchos) are also summer inhabitants.Not many people venture near the shores of Lake Natron in northern Tanzania. Over 188 species of birds 'hang out' and nest here including the Piping Plover (Chara-drius melodus), a small endangered shorebird. This lake serves as a significant staging, nesting and feeding area for Canada Geese (Branta canadensis), Tundra Swans (Cygna columbianus), and about 30 000 ducks. Redberry Lake (Saskatchewan) has been designated a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Another major staging and feeding area for migratory and shore birds is the Salton Sea which supports the greatest diversity of birds of any U.S. Mono Lake is also home to the second largest California Gull rookery in North America (Great Salt Lake is the largest). ![]() Mono Lake, California is designated an International Reserve in the Western Hemisphere Reserve Network with nearly 2 million waterbirds (including 35 species of shorebirds, e.g., Western phalaropes, American avocets, Western and Least sandpipers, Snowy plovers, White-faced ibises, Dowitchers) using it as a food and rest stop for at least part of the year. It is also home and breeding ground for countless other bird species. ![]() Both the greater and lesser flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber and Phoeniconaias minor) are found at these lakes, with the lesser flamingo outnumbering the greater by 100 to one. It is not only flamingos that enjoy this lake. According to a recent aerial survey, Lake Natron has the highest concentration of flamingos in East Africa. Lakes Natron and Bahi, for example, have distinctively large populations of flamingos. The saline soda lakes of east Africa are renowned habitats for pink flamingoes. Saline lakes around the world are important nesting, feeding and staging areas for all types of waterbirds.
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