The lake is fed by the Southern Ewaso Ng'iro River and by mineral-rich hot springs. Situated between its volcanic hills and deep craters, Lake Natron is at the lowest point of the rift valley – 600m above sea level – and is probably the world's most caustic body of water. If you’d like to include Lake Natron in your big Tanzania safari, keep reading to find out more about this amazing place. Lake Natron is home to ancient hominid footprints, the largest breeding ground for Lesser Flamingo and to Ol Doinyo Lengai, and it’s the only active carbonatite volcano in the world. Fortunately, they were just a few kilometers (miles) from the coast, so Herbertson and one of the guides rushed to the nearby Maasai village for help.Lake Natron is situated in northern Tanzania on the border with Kenya, close to Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area. But Lake Natron is 1,040 square meters (11,194 ft2) in size, so they had a long way to go. The water wasn’t deep, so they tried to drag their wounded to shore.

Herbertson and other passengers helped them out of the chopper. The pilot broke his leg and suffered severe cuts to his face. Cameraman Ben Herbertson recalls that the hot, salty water was burning his eyes. The entire craft plunged into the corrosive water and caught fire. But the helicopter’s landing skid hit the lake’s surface. Its surface was clear and beautiful that morning. In 2007, a documentary film crew was flying over Lake Natron. So, forget about your swimming lessons and keep your head above the water. If it splashes into your eyes, it could permanently blind you. The water is almost as corrosive as ammonia. No matter what, don’t let the water get into your mouth, nose, ears, or eyes. The bad news is, you know, the hot water will burn you. The good news is that you won’t sink due to the extremely high salt concentration in the water. If you fall into the lake during the wet season, it could be up to 3 m (10 ft) deep. The salt will soon dry out the suit’s fabric, and once it touches you, it can burn your skin and corrode away your tissue. When you’re in Lake Natron’s corrosive water, the dry suit can help insulate your skin from the sodium.

If an emergency happens, and you have a dry suit, get into it fast.

Natron lake deadly