Other parts of the ecoregion fall within Kitwai and Hadeni Game controlled areas. Lake Manyara falls within Burunge Wildlife management area and Lake Manyara National Park. The area surrounding Lake Natron falls within a large game controlled area which offers some protection to wild animals in the area, but no protection to the ecosystem as a whole. Lake Natron has recently been declared a Ramsar site in recognition of its significant importance for wetland birds (especially lesser flamingo). Image credit: Malcolm Macgregor, Creative Commons The habitats surrounding the lakes support large mammals such as African elephant, buffalo, lion, oryx, eland, and caracal.Ī single species of endemic fish known as the white-lipped or alkaline tilapia is found in abundance living on the edges of the hot spring inlets, where the water is between 36 and 40 ☌. The non-bird fauna of the lake margins has not been well studied, although it is evident that neither the water of these lakes, nor their surrounding soda-encrusted mudflats provide suitable habitat for most species. Africa’s flamingo populations are not isolated, and flamingos migrate between the soda lakes of East Africa and the Etosha and Makgadikgadi Pans in southern Africa. Lakes Natron, Eyasi, and the other similar lakes in the Rift Valley have large populations of wetland birds, especially greater and (Near Threatened) lesser flamingos. However, the population sizes of the few species adapted to these environments are large. The species richness in the ecoregion is very low as a result of the extreme and highly variable environments. Image credit: Louise Joubert, Creative Commons A few halophytic (salt-loving) plant species are able to grow on the saline soils fringing the lakes.Ĭaracal. These lakes are devoid of macrophytic vegetation, but are productive in terms of blue-green algae (Cyanophyta) such as Spirulina spp. The low rainfall, low inflow rates, high temperatures, volcanic substrates, and input of hot mineral rich waters result in lake waters that contain a saturated salt solution of pH 9 to 10, with water temperatures that reach 41☌ near the mineral springs. Water loss from both Natron and Eyasi lakes occurs solely through evaporation, as neither lake has an outlet. The lake is also fed by hot, mineral laden springs. Lake Natron is principally fed by the Ewaso Ngiro River, which has its catchment in the central Kenyan Highlands. Daily temperatures are frequently above 40☌ and evaporation rates are high. The region is semi-arid, receiving erratic rainfall around 600 mm per year which mostly falls between December and May, followed by a long dry season. The flagship species of the East African Halophytics ecoregion is the lesser flamingo. This was deposited in the past, but in recent times rapid weathering continues to deposit the material in depressions, resulting in deep sodium-rich soils. Volcanic lava and ash form the substrate for most of the ecoregion. The ecoregion encompass saline (soda) lakes, including Lake Natron, Lake Eyasi, and Lake Manyara, situated in the eastern arm of the Rift Valley in Tanzania as well as Lake Magadi in Kenya. Their famous pink plumage comes from the red photosynthetic pigments in Spirulina that they feed on. Lake Natron is the most important breeding site in the world for lesser flamingos, hosting an impressive 1.5–2.5 million individuals, 75% of the world’s population. However, the ecoregion is inhabited by an endemic salt-tolerant fish as well as many migratory and breeding birds. There, sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate combine to make "natro carbonatite," or "natron." Without it, it's likely that the mummies in the sarcophagi would have wound up mere bones and hair.The highly saline, alkaline, hot lakes of the East African Halophytics ecoregion are inhospitable to most species. The streets were repaved specifically for this event, and each pharaoh's shock-absorbent chariot was filled with a nitrogen mixture to protect from the elements.īut how did the Ancient Egyptians figure out their highly complex embalming and mummification technique to begin with? Most likely, Mother Nature was the teacher, starting with salt deposits in dry lake beds in Natron Valley, Wadi El Natrun, as Saltwork Consultations explains. Dubbed The Pharaohs' Golden Parade, the mummies were transported in a multimillion dollar golden motorcade of lavish fanfare, horse-mounted guards, and attendants adorned in ancient garb. As the BBC outlines, 22 pharaohs, arranged in order of reign, starting with Seqenenre Taa II and ending in Ramses IX, traveled seven kilometers across Cairo to the new National Museum of Egyptian Civilization. In April, 2021, this exact thing happened.
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