Lonar Crater Lake

Lonar Lake fills a crater in Buldhana district made when a meteorite struck the Deccan Plateau. The bowl is more than 1.8 km across and about 150 m deep, and it is the only known impact crater in the basalt laid down by the huge volcanic eruptions that formed the plateau some 65 million years ago. Shatter cones and other rocks shaped by the impact have been found around it.

The water is salty and alkaline, rich in minerals from the surrounding rock, and supports unusual microorganisms and aquatic plants. Woods on the slopes shelter birds, including winter migrants, as well as monkeys, deer, leopards and reptiles. Local people treat the lake as sacred: one belief says Vishnu made it to protect the world, another that Rama and Sita stopped here on the way back to Ayodhya. Old temples stand around the lake and draw pilgrims for festivals through the year.