Lakes of India and the World

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What is a lake?

A lake is a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on the Earth's surface. Most of the lakes contain freshwater, but some like the Caspean Sea and the Dead Sea have salt water.

Lagoons are which are shallow pools formed near coastal regions and separated from the sea by sandbars or reefs.

Most lakes are natural and are formed in craters, depressed landforms etc. However, artificial lakes known as reservoirs, are constructed for industrial, agricultural or drinking water use.

Facts to remember on Lakes

Lakes of the World

  • Deepest lake in the world is the fresh water Lake Baikal located in Russia
  • Largest fresh water lake in the world is Lake Superior, located between Canada and the USA
  • Largest lake in the world is Caspean Sea, bounded by Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan
  • Saltiest lake in the world is Dead Sea bounded by Israel, Jordan and West Bank
  • Lowest lake in the world is Dead Sea between Israel and Jordan
  • The Country known as Land of thousand lakes - Finland

Lakes of India

  • Largest lake in India is Sambhar lake also known as Shakambari Jheel in Rajasthan. It is surrounded by Aravalli hills and is the main source of salt production of Rajasthan.
  • Largest fresh-water lake in India is Kolleru lake in Andhra Pradesh
  • Largest coastal lagoon in India is Chilka lake in Orissa
  • Sriharikota island is located in Pulicat lake in Andhra Pradesh
  • Udaipur is known as the Lake City.
  • Pangong Lake is a transboundary lake. A major portion of the lake lies in Tibet.
  • Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad forms a notional boundary between the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad.
  • Lonar lake in Buldana district of Maharashtra is in a crater created by the impact of meteorite thousands of years ago.
  • Loktak lake in Moirang, Manipur is famous for the phumdi floating over it. A phumdi is a floating mass of vegetation, soil and organic matter. Keibul Lamjao National Park, world's only floating national park is located on the largest phumdi on this lake.
  • Dal lake in Srinagar, J&K is well-known for its house-boats and shikaras. It also has a floating post office.
  • Vembanad lake in Kerala is the longest lake in India. Kochi lake and Punnameda lake are parts of the Vembanad lake. Punnameda lake hosts the annual Nehru Trophy Boat Race. The second longest railway bridge of India runs across the Vembanad lake.
  • Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir is fed by the Jhelum river.
  • Neermahal also known as Twijilikma Nuyung is a former royal palace of Tripura Kingdom, is situated in the middle of Rudrasagar Lake.
  • Adyar river originates from Chembarambakkam Lake near Chennai. The lake was built by Rajendra Chola.
  • Lake Pichola of Udaipur is an artificial fresh water lake, created in the year 1362. Lake Palace (now a hotel) is located on an island in the lake.
  • Maharana Pratap Sagar is located on Beas river and the Gobind Sagar is located on Sutlej river.
  • Salim Ali lake was earlier named Khiziri Talab and was renamed after the great orinthologist Dr. Salim Ali.
  • Surajkund in Haryana is known for its annual fair Surajkund International Craft Mela.
  • Kanwar lake in Bihar is the largest oxbow lake in Asia, formed due to meandering of Gandak river, a tributary of Ganga, in the geological past.

Lakes in India

Name of the LakeLocation
Kolleru lakeEluru, Andhra Pradesh
Pulicat lakeTamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh
Chembarambakkam lakeChennai, Tamil Nadu
Hussain SagarHyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Ulsoor lakeBengaluru, Karnataka
Sambhar lakeJaipur, Rajasthan
Pichola lakeUdaipur, Rajasthan
Dal lakeSrinagar, Jammu and Kashmir
Wular lakeBandipore, Jammu and Kashmir
Pangong lakeLadakh
SurajkundFaridabad, Haryana
Rudrasagar lakeSipahijala, Tripura
Bellandur lakeBengaluru, Karnataka
Cholamu lakeSikkim
Loktak lakeMoirang, Manipur
Vembanad lakeKerala
Dipor bilGuwahati, Assam
Bhimtal lakeNainital, Uttarakhand
Pushkar lakeAjmer, Rajasthan
Salim Ali lakeAurangabad, Maharashtra
Panchmuli lakeKevadia, Gujarat
Sukhna lakeChandigarh
BhojtalBhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Kanwar lakeBegusarai, Bihar
Ghora KatoraRajgir, Bihar
Rabindra SarobarKolkata, West Bengal
Dimna lakeJamshedpur, Jharkhand
Topchanchi lakeDhanbad, Jharkhand
Maharana Pratap Sagar (Pong Dam lake)Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
Gobind Sagar (Bhakra Dam lake)Una & Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh

 

Quiz on Lakes

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Question

1. On which lake is the Sriharikota island located?

2. The deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal is located in which country?

3. On which lake is the Keibul Lamjao National Park located?

4. Which lake is located in a crater formed by the impact of a meteorite?

5. Which is the largest lake in the world?

6. On which lake is the second longest railway bridge of India located?

7. Which river originates from Lake Chembarambakkam in Chennai?

8. In which state is the Loktak lake located?

9. In which state is the Cholamu lake located?

10. Near which of the following lakes is an annual International Crafts Fair held?

11. Which lake is formed by the Bhakra dam?

12. Which river feeds the Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir?

13. Which lake is famous of its phumdis?

14. Ulsoor lake is located in which city?

15. Which of the following is a transboundary lake?