लोनार झील
( Lonar Lake )
Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, saline, soda lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India. Lonar Lake is an astrobleme created by a meteorite impact during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is one of only four known hyper-velocity impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth. The other three basaltic impact structures are in southern Brazil. Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) in diameter.
Lonar Crater sits inside the Deccan Plateau – a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock created by eruptions some 65 million years ago. Its location in this basalt field suggested to some geologists that it was a volcanic crater. Today, however, Lonar Crater is understood to be the result of a meteorite impact. The water in the lake is both saline...Read more
Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, saline, soda lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India. Lonar Lake is an astrobleme created by a meteorite impact during the Pleistocene Epoch. It is one of only four known hyper-velocity impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth. The other three basaltic impact structures are in southern Brazil. Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) in diameter.
Lonar Crater sits inside the Deccan Plateau – a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock created by eruptions some 65 million years ago. Its location in this basalt field suggested to some geologists that it was a volcanic crater. Today, however, Lonar Crater is understood to be the result of a meteorite impact. The water in the lake is both saline and alkaline.
Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have published studies on various aspects of the ecosystem of this crater lake.
Although the crater's age was previously estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years, newer studies suggest an age of 576,000 ± 47,000 years.
The Smithsonian Institution, the United States Geological Survey, Geological Survey of India, the University of Sagar and the Physical Research Laboratory have conducted extensive studies of the site. Biological nitrogen fixation was discovered in this lake in 2007.
A 2019 study, conducted by IIT Bombay found that the minerals in the lake soil are very similar to the minerals found in Moon rocks brought back during the Apollo Program. The lake was declared a protected Ramsar site in November 2020.
The lake was first mentioned in ancient scriptures such as the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana.[citation needed]
The Ain-i-Akbari, a document written about 1600 CE, states:
These mountains produce all the requisites for making glass and soap. And here are saltpetre works which yield a considerable revenue to the State, from the duties collected. On these mountains is a spring of salt water, but the water from the centre and the edges is perfectly fresh.[1]
Buldhana district in Maharashtra, where the lake is located, was once part of the Maurya Empire and then part of the Satavahana Empire. The Chalukyas and Rashtrakutas also ruled this area. During the period of the Mughals, Yadavas, Nizam, and the British, trade prospered in this area. Several temples found on the periphery of the Lake are known as Yadava temples and also as Hemadpanti temples (named after Hemadri Ramgaya).
In 2022, the government of Maharashtra began plans to develop the site as a tourist attraction.[2]
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