Lonar Lake

Nestled in the suburbs of Lonar town in the district of Buldhana, the Lonar Crater was first revealed in 1823 by British officer, J.E. Alexander. This saline soda lake was created by a meteor that hit the Earth during the Pleistocene Epoch. This lake, which outlines forming a basalt impact structure, is also alkaline in nature.

The Deccan plateau had a tourist from the outer space, a standard sized rock, which was induced by the earth’s gravity and partially eating up and creating an impression by the angry friction from the earth’s environment that approached and crashed down in the Buldana district of Maharashtra. Igneous rock met igneous rock and in the 6 megaton collision a crater was formed.

Lonar is well-known for the truth that it is the worlds third largest crater. It has its origin; dates back to almost 50,000 years ago, after a 2 million-ton meteorite collided with the earth and created an impression of 1.83 kilometers in diameter and 150 meters in depth. The description of this lake has also been in the ancient scripts such as Skanda Puran, Padma Puran and Aaina-i-Akbari.

The lake created out of hypervelocity meteorite impactattracts casual tourists as well as members of the scientific community from across the globe. The lake is frequented by the visitors and is famous for its unique formation and features. The research agencies like the Smithsonian Institution of Washington DC, the US Geological Survey, the Geological Society of India, and Sagar University, Jabalpur, and Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad, have conducted wide-ranging explorations of the site.

Since that cataclysmic event, the lake has developed into a heavenly stretch of sapphire water in the midst of swathing emerald green woods, which is spread to the margin of horizon. The site also offers to the wildlife enthusiasts as the area is in abundance with both flora and fauna. The crater houses hundreds of peafowl, chinkara and gazelles, which can be glanced amongst the shrubs and bushes humming the lake. Other inhabitants of this scientifically significant lake are egrets, moor hens, herons, coots, white-necked storks, lapwings, grey wagtails, grebes, black droungos, green bee-eaters, tailorbirds, magpies and robins – as well as the lake hosts a plethora of species of migratory birds that time and again visit the place.

Lonar is rich in natural heritage. And, like the meteorite that put it on the map, leaves a lasting impression. Lonar impresses with the richness of its natural heritage and the meteorite that has been set on the map has left an everlasting impression. The soil of the region has abundant salts and whenever it rained, the waters from the rains and the three perennial springs collects the salts from around the region and deposits them at the bottom of the lake.

In the year 2007, biological nitrogen fixation has also been discovered in the lake.