Tanzania Cultural :Lake Natron & Foot Print

Lake Natron

is salt lake located in Engaresero village some 220 kilometers northwest of Arusha town in Tanzania. Upon arriving at the village the beautiful view of East African Rift Valley escarpment awaiting, as well as perfect view of Mountain Oldonyo Lengai. With clear day Engaresero gives out a perfect place for viewing good reddish sunrise and sunset.

The Lake extend to eastern branch of East African Rift Valley to the Republic of Kenya and changes its name to Lake Magadi which is the southernmost Lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, lying in a catchment of faulted volcanic rocks, north of Tanzania’s Lake Natron.

During the dry season, it is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos as her sister Lake Natron in Tanzania.

Lake Natron is fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng’iro River and also by mineral-rich hot springs. It is quite shallow, less than three meters (10 feet) deep, and varies in width depending on its water level, which changes due to high levels of evaporation, leaving concentrations of salt and other minerals, notably sodium carbonate (natron).

The surrounding country is dry and receives irregular seasonal rainfall. The Lake falls within the Lake Natron Basin Wetlands of International Importance Ramsar Site. Temperatures in the Lake can reach 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit), and depending on rainfall, the alkalinity can reach a pH of 9 to 10.5 (almost as alkaline as ammonia).

Lake Natron is the only regular breeding area in East Africa for the 2.5 million Lesser Flamingoes, whose status of “near threatened” is a consequence of their dependence on the single breeding location. As salinity increases, so do the number of cyanobacteria, and the lake can support more nests.

These flamingoes, the single large flock in East Africa, gather along saline lakes in the region, where they feed on Spirulina (blue – green algae). Lake Natron is a safe breeding location because its caustic environment is a barrier against predators trying to reach their nests on seasonally-forming evaporates islands. Greater Flamingo also breeds on the mud flats.

Even more amazing than the ability of the flamingoes to live in these conditions is the fact that two endemic fish species, the alkaline tilapias (Alcolapia latilabris and A. ndalalani; A. alcalica is also present in the lake, but not endemic), thrive in the waters at the edges of the hot spring inlets.

Foot Print

The oldest verified human footprints are located at Laetoli village, Ngorongoro District in northern Tanzania, where the footmarks of three humans have been dated to be as old as 3.5 million years ago. The footprints of Olduvai Gorge says by scientists were probably of a man, his wife and a child.

In the year 2006 the new foot prints were found at Engaresero village 1 kilometer from Lake Natron. About 57 ancient footprints have been located, but this time dated 120,000 years ago. The family was getting larger.

To date researchers from different universities, TTB, the Division of Antiquities, Tourism Unit, Arusha Regional Administration, Donors and International Organizations including the ministry are some of the stakeholders that are working on documenting on this discovering and more details will be updated here as we get more source of information.