Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument,[2][3][4] saline, soda lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India. Lonar Lake was created by a meteorite collision impact during the Pleistocene Epoch.[5][6] It is one of the four known, hyper-velocity, impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth. The other three basaltic impact structures are in southern Brazil.[7] 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.[8]
| Lonar Lake | |
|---|---|
 Lonar crater full rim view | |
  Lonar Lake Location in Maharashtra, India | |
| Location | Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India |
| Coordinates | 19°58′30″N 76°30′27″E |
| Type | impact crater lake, salt lake |
| Basin countries | India |
| Max. length | 1,830 m (6,000 ft) |
| Surface area | 1.13 km2 (0.44 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 137 m (449 ft) |
| Max. depth | 150 m (490 ft) |
| Residence time | IST |
| References | earthobservatory |
| Ramsar Wetland | |
| Designated | 22 July 2020 |
| Reference no. | 2441[1] |
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.[9] The water in the lake is both saline and alkaline.
Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have published studies of various aspects of this crater lake ecosystem.[10]
Although the crater's age was previously estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years,[11] newer studies suggest an age of 576,000 ± 47,000 years.[12]
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.[13][14] Biological nitrogen fixation was discovered in this lake in 2007.[15]
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.[16] The lake was declared a protected Ramsar site in November 2020.[17]
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