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 and is about 137 metres below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres 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.
A series of small hills surround the basin, which has an oval shape, almost round, with a circumference at top of about 8 km. The sides of the basin rise abruptly at an angle of about 75°. At the base of the sides, the lake has a circumference of about 4.8 km. The slopes are covered with tree.
The water of the lake contains various salts and sodas. During dry weather, when evaporation reduces the water level, large quantities of soda are collected. Two small streams, named Purna and Penganga, drain into the lake, and a well of fresh water is located on the southern side, close to the water’s edge.
Lonar Lake lies within the only known extraterrestrial impact crater found within the great Deccan Traps, a huge basaltic formation in India.
The lake was first mentioned in ancient scriptures such as the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana.
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).
The chemical characteristics of the lake shows two distinct regions that do not mix – an outer neutral and an inner alkaline each with its own flora and fauna.The lake is a haven for a wide range of plant and animal life.
The Lonar Lake appears green for most of the year due to the presence of dense blooms of cyanobacteria such as Arthrospira bacteria and archaea.
In early June 2020, the lake turned red/pink in a span of 2–3 days.The research reports suggested that lowered water levels and high salinity caused growth of Halobacterium and increased Carotenoid levels, which in turn led to color change.
Numerous temples surround the lake, most of which stand in ruins today, except for the temple of Daitya Sudan at the centre of the Lonar town, which was built in honour of Vishnu’s victory over the giant Lonasur. It is a fine example of early Hindu architecture.