Have you ever heard about Crater Lake, that too in India? Now you must be wondering what is this crater? The crater means that a bowl-shaped cavity on the ground by a meteorite or other celestial body. You must have seen such a huge pit in many films, which are formed by a celestial body. Today we are talking about a lake which was created by a meteorite impact during the Pleistocene (The Pleistocene is referred to as the Ice Age. It is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the world's most recent period of repeated glaciations) Epoch and it is the only known hyper velocity impact crater in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth. The Lonar Crater lake of Maharashtra is a unique geographical heritage located at Lonar in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Lonar is an unremarkable village around 140 km from Aurangabad, is home to a highly remarkable meteor impact crater. It is a saline soda lake. This lake lies in a basalt impact structure, is both saline and alkaline in nature. Due to this water being alkalic, this lake has attracted attention of many ecologists and geologists. This lake is surrounded by greenery. Traveling here will surprise you to see the picturesque scenery here. It is said that the formation of this crater lake was done thousands of years ago and it has remained a center of attraction for many decades. The Lonar lake is notified National Geo-heritage Monument and has been the main center for many years. 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.
Along with this there is also a small amber lake which is located near it. It is said that when the meteorite was forming this crater lake, a splinter of the meteor fell down a few distance away and formed this small ambar lake. Ambar lake is at a distance of around 700m from the main lake. Ambar lake is sometimes also called as Chhota (little) Lonar. According to a story, a demon named Lonarsur was lived here. He used to trouble the residents living here. So, in order to save those inhabitants, Lord Vishnu came in the form of Daitya Sudan and killed Lonarsur. A Chalukyan Shrine named as Daitya Sudan Temple is one of the prominent historical sites near Lonar Crater Lake. The Smithsonian Institution, the United States Geological Survey, Geological Society 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. The lake was first mentioned in ancient scriptures such as the Skanda Purana, the Padma Purana and the Ain-i-Akbari. The first European to visit the lake was a British officer, J.E. Alexander, in 1823. Traveling the beauty and exclusiveness of this lonar crater lake will be the most wonderful experience for you. You will not be tired of its beautiful view and its textures. Lonar Crater Lake is one of the most spectacular and unique tourist sites in Maharashtra.
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