High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality (in other words, a pH value above 7, typically between 9 - 12). They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complexes), giving rise to their alkalinity. In addition, many soda lakes also contain high concentrations of sodium chloride and other dissolved salts, making them saline- or hypersaline lakes as well. High pH and salinity often coincide, because of how soda lakes develop (see "Geology, geochemistry and genesis"). The resulting hypersaline and highly alkalic soda lakes are considered some of the most extreme aquatic environments on Earth.