Lake Magadi is a soda lake located in the Rift Valley that is highly alkaline from dissolved sodium and carbonate, recharged by saline hot springs. The lake can take on many different colors and patterns depending on a variety of factors, including chemical reactions, algae, water evaporation and surface winds. There is a large resident lesser flamingo population that feed on the cyanobacteria and algae. The landscape of these lakes is changing, affecting the flamingo populations. There has been more rainfall and that has diluted the salinity of the soda ash lakes which the flamingos depend on to survive. Declines in healthy soda lake ecosystems threaten their unique biodiversity. I took a helicopter ride to Lake Magadi in Kenya in August, during the dry season. The patterns in the lake are best appreciated in the afternoon, when the sun is high up in the sky.