
Tanzania’s Lake Natron is the most caustic body of water on Earth. The ominously colored pool takes its name from the naturally occurring salt-mixture that saturates its depths. Natron (the mineral) was once used by the ancient Egyptians as a drying agent in the mummification process; and in the hellish brine of its namesake, where temperatures reach 140 degrees Fahrenheit, and alkalinity levels fall in the aggressively inhospitable range of pH 9–10.5, it serves a similar purpose.








