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Earth is an amazing place with many wonders spread throughout for us to marvel. Some places are awe inspiring but not the safest places to be. I want to take you on an adventure to see miraculous places that are no less beautiful as they are deadly. Some of these locations can be visited without any special needs. Some of these places are so remote that we are just now finding them. Don’t worry if you take one wrong step your dead.

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1. Lake Natron, Tanzania

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Lake Natron is a salt lake in Tanzania, much like The Great Salt Lake in Utah, U.S. but with a much higher alkalinity. The lake gets the name from the chemical natron that naturally forms of baking soda and sodium carbonate. This causes the pH of the lake to spike up to 10.5 and puts it into the neighborhood of ammonia which is high enough to strip paint off of objects. A neutral pH for humans and other animals is around 7, so when we come into contact with this lake it is deadly.

Lake Natron can reach temperatures up to 60 °C (140 °F), which only extremophiles live in this harsh environment. Only a single fish calls this place home along with some algae and flamingos that live by the shore.

If other animals happen to get into the water either by crash landing or walking into the lake they are quickly killed and then chemically preserved like a stone (see picture above). Trying to collect the preserved birds can prove costly if the water comes into contact with your skin. Contact with a small cut or scratch will be agonizing. Anyone want to join me for a swim in Lake Natron?

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2: Giant Crystal Cave, Mexico

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In Mexico; south of Chihuahua lies a lead and silver mine that holds a secret. A cave as the title implies of giant crystals. The crystals grow from the floor to the ceiling and every other direction. The beauty of these crystals attracts visitors from all over the world.
The meager wages paid to those who work the mine have created a black market for the crystals. If you visit you may be able to pick up one the size of a large plate for as little as $300 U.S. If your patient and really want the crystals you can get one for as low as $30 U.S.

What makes this place so dangerous is what is beneath the cave itself. About a mile below the cave is a magma pocket. The deeper you go the hotter it gets. The average temperature is 44 °C (112 °F) with a humidity of 90 to 100%. Hot enough to cause heat stroke if you’re in for long.

If you plan to trek here make it soon because access to this place will end when they are done with the lead and silver. The cave will be flooded once more as it was to begin with. The water is currently being pumped out to allow for visits.

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3: Nyiragongo Volcano

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Above is the largest continually filled lava lake. It resides in the Conga, Africa and can be seen from high altitudes.
Clouds of poisonous gasses rise from the surface and as the winds shift the heat is push in varying directions. Temperatures in this location can range from 700 to 1,200 °C (1,292 to 2,192 °F). Yet people still go and study this awesome work of nature.

This would probably be the last place you would expect people to live, but they do. The base of Mount Nyiragongo is populated by many villages. The inhabitants go about their daily lives knowing of the danger above them. The most recent eruption took place in 2002 and killed 147 people in its path.

The lava flow can reach speeds of up to 96.5 km/h (60 mph). The area around the volcano is rich in alkali volcanic rock melilite nephelinite. This allows the lava to be exceptionally fluid. So it can over take anything quickly and with deadly force. Who is up for a sprint around Mount Nyiragongo?

Naifaz
#minnowsunite
Inspiration: @sauravrungta & @knozaki2015

Sources:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/11/crystal-giants/shea-text
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lava-lake-nyiragongo-volcano
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/this-alkaline-african-lake-turns-animals-into-stone-445359/