Important Lakes of India
- Lake is a surface water body that is surrounded by land. Rivers will be outlet or inlet to the lakes i.e. lakes take the water from rivers or act as a source of water.
- Lakes are found in various landscapes like Hilly areas, plains, plateaus, rift zones, etc.
- There are various types of lakes that can be classified based on different criteria – They are
- Fresh Water Lakes,
- Salt Water lakes,
- Natural Lakes,
- Artificial Lakes,
- Oxbow lake, (Formed by river deposits)
- Crater Lake, etc. (formed due to volcanic activity)
- Lakes have various applications like drinking water, irrigation, navigation, water storage, livelihood (fishing, etc.), impact on microclimate, etc.
Subglacial Lake
- A subglacial lake is a body of liquid water located in between an ice sheet and the continental landmass.
- The water remains liquid because the ice sheet above the water acts as an insulator and traps geothermal heat from the Earth’s crust.
- Lake Vostok is the largest of Antarctica’s almost 400 known subglacial lakes. Lake Vostok is located at the southern Pole of Cold, beneath Russia’s Vostok Station under the surface of the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet, which is at 3,488 m above mean sea level.
Important Facts related to Lakes of India
- Largest freshwater lake in India – Wular Lake, Jammu and Kashmir
- Largest Saline water lake in India – Chilka Lake, Orissa
- Highest lake in India (Altitude) – Cholamu lake, Sikkim
- Longest Lake in India – Vembanad lake, Kerala
- Largest Artificial Lake in India – Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar (Rihand Dam)
- Dhebar Lake is India’s second-largest artificial lake, after Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar. It is located in the Udaipur District of Rajasthan.
Lakes of India
| Name | State | District | Type of Lakes | Facts/Description |
| Pulicat Lake | Andhra Pradesh | Sullurpet | Brackish Water | It encompasses Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary; Satish Dhawan Space Centre located here |
| Kolleru Lake | Andhra Pradesh | Vijayawada | Freshwater | Home to migratory birds |
| Nagarjuna Sagar | Andhra Pradesh | Nalgonda | Freshwater | Artificially constructed; Krishna river |
| Cumbum Lake | Andhra Pradesh | — | — | — |
| Haflong Lake | Assam | Silchar | Freshwater | High altitude lake |
| DeeporBeel | Assam | Kamrup | Freshwater | Under Ramsar Convention |
| Son Beel | Assam | Karimganj | Freshwater (Tectonically formed) | Largest wetland in Assam |
| Chandubi lake | Assam | Kamrup | Freshwater | Migratory Birds (winter); formed by 1897 earthquake |
| Sala Lake | Arunachal Pradesh | —- | —- | —– |
| Sangestar Tso (Madhuri Lake) | Arunachal Pradesh | Tawang | —- | —- |
| Ganga Lake (Geker Sinying) | Arunachal Pradesh | Itanagar | —- | —- |
| Kanwar Lake | Bihar | Begusarai | Oxbow (freshwater) | Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake; |
| Nal Sarovar | Gujarat | |||
| Hamirsar lake | Gujarat | Kutch | Artificial | Situated in centre of Bhuj |
| Kankaria lake | Gujarat | Ahmedabad | Artificial | During 14th century by Muhammed Shah II |
| Narayan Sarovar | Gujarat | Kutch | Artificial freshwater | Pilgrimage site for Hindus |
| Thol Lake | Gujarat | Mehsana | Lentic lake | Constructed for irrigation purpose |
| Vastrapur | Gujarat | Ahmedabad | Freshwater | Narmada River; Picnic spot |
| Sursagar Lake | Gujarat | |||
| Lakhota Lake | Gujarat | |||
| Badkhal Lake | Haryana | Faridabad | Freshwater | Man made |
| Blue Bird Lake | Haryana | Hisar | Freshwater | Migratory Birds, Wetland Habitat |
| Brahma Sarovar | Haryana | Thaneswar | Freshwater | Ancient water pool sacred to Hinduism |
| Damdama Lake | Haryana | Sohna | Freshwater | Constructed by British government for Rainwater Harvesting |
| Karna | Haryana | Karnal | Freshwater | Connected to great epic Mahabharata |
| Tilyar | Haryana | Rohtak | Freshwater (canal inflow) | Located inside Tilyar Zoo |
| Surajkund Lake | Haryana | Faridabad | ||
| Chandra Taal | Himachal Pradesh | Lahul and Spiti | Sweetwater lake | Ramsar wetland site |
| Suraj Taal | Himachal Pradesh | Lahul and Spiti | Freshwater (High Altitude) | Bhaga River inflow |
| MaharanaPratapSagar | Himachal Pradesh | Kangra | Freshwater | Ramsar site |
| Prashar lake | Himachal Pradesh | Mandi | Holomitic (Freshwater) | It has a floating Island |
| Renuka lake | Himachal Pradesh | Sirmaur | Freshwater | It is designated as the Ramsar site |
| Nako Lake | Himachal Pradesh | Kinnaur | ||
| Dal lake | J &K | Srinagar | Warm monomitic | Remnants of past glacial period |
| Pangong Tso | J &K | Ladakh | Endorheic Lake (saline water) | Indo-China Border |
| Wular lake | J &K | Bandipora | Tectonic lake (fresh water) | Largest freshwater lake in India |
| TsoMoriri | J &K | Ladakh | Saltwater | High altitude lake |
| Anchar Lake | J &K | |||
| Manasbal Lake | J &K | |||
| Gadsar Lake | J &K | |||
| Gangabal Lake | J &K | |||
| Vishansar Lake | J &K | |||
| Mansar Lake | J &K | |||
| Marsar Lake | J &K | |||
| Tarsar Lake | J &K | |||
| Sheshnag | J &K | |||
| Tulian lake | J &K | |||
| Agata lake | Karnataka | Bangalore | Freshwater | Located in the southwest part of the city |
| Bellandur Lake | Karnataka | Bangalore | Freshwater | – |
| Karanji lake | Karnataka | Mysore | – | Butterfly park |
| Ulsoor lake | Karnataka | Bangalore | Stale water | It has several islands |
| Kukarahalli lake | Karnataka | Mysore | Freshwater | Recreational |
| Honnamana | Karnataka | Kodagu | Freshwater | Holy lake, place for various festivals |
| Pampa Sarovar | Karnataka | Hampi | Freshwater | Tungabhadra river |
| Hebbal Lake | Karnataka | — | — | — |
| Ashtamudi Kayal | Kerala | Kollam | Brackish water | Ramsar wetland site |
| Kuttanad | Kerala | Alappuzha, Kottayam | Backwater paddy cultivation | |
| Vembanad | Kerala | – | Brackish water | Ramsar wetland; boat race |
| Shashtamkotta | Kerala | Kollam | Freshwater | Ramsar wetland |
| Vellayani Lake | Kerala | Thiruvananthapuram | ||
| Bhojtal | Madhya. Pradesh | Bhopal | Freshwater | Ramsar site; largest artificial lake in India |
| Salim Ali Lake | Maharashtra | Aurangabad | Freshwater | Birdwatching |
| Shivsagar | Maharashtra | Satara | Freshwater | Koyna dam |
| Lonar lake | Maharashtra | Buldhana | Crater lake | National Geo-Heritage monument |
| Gorewada Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Pashan Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Powai Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Rankala Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Venna Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Tulsi Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Vihar Lake | Maharashtra | |||
| Loktak lake | Manipur | – | Lenticular freshwater | Ramsar wetland; Phumdis (Floating Islands); Multipurpose project |
| Umiam | Meghalaya | Shillong | Freshwater | Famous for cycling and boating |
| Tam Dil | Mizoram | Saitual | Freshwater | – |
| Chilika lake | Orissa | Puri | Brackish water | India’s largest brackish water lake; lagoon |
| Kanjia lake | Orissa | Bhubaneswar | Freshwater | Wetland of national importance |
| Anshupa Lake | Orissa | Cuttack | Freshwater | On the left bank of the Mahanadi river |
| Harike | Punjab | Ferozepur | Freshwater | Ramsar wetland site |
| Rupar | Punjab | Rupnagar | Freshwater | Manmade riverine lake |
| Kanjli | Punjab | Kapurthala | Freshwater | Ramsar wetland site |
| Sambhar lake | Rajasthan | Sambhar Lake-town | Saltwater | Ramsar wetland; largest inland saltwater lake in India |
| Rajsamand | Rajasthan | Rajsamand | Freshwater | – |
| Dhebar Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Kaylana Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Nakki Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Pachpadra Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Man Sagar Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Didwana Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Lunkaransar Salt Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Anasagar Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Talwara Lake | Rajasthan | |||
| Tsomgo lake | Sikkim | East Sikkim | Freshwater | Winter frozen |
| Khecheoplari | Sikkim | West Sikkim | Freshwater | Sacred lake for Hindus and Buddhists |
| Gurudongmar Lake | Sikkim | — | — | north of the Kanchendzonga range |
| Ooty lake | Tamilnadu | Nilgiris | Freshwater | Boat House |
| Chembarambakkam | Tamilnadu | Chennai | Artificial lake | – |
| Kodaikanal Lake | Tamilnadu | Dindigul | Artificial lake | Boat club, boathouse, and boat service |
| Kaliveli Lake | Tamil Nadu | Viluppuram | Coastal lake and lagoon | — |
| Kolavai | Tamil Nadu | — | — | — |
| Puzhal lake (Red Hills Lake) | Tamil Nadu | — | — | — |
| Sholavaram lake | Tamil Nadu | |||
| Berijam Lake | Tamil Nadu | |||
| Veeranam Lake | Tamil Nadu | |||
| Hussain Sagar | Telangana | Hyderabad | Artificial lake | Artificial Gibraltar rock-island |
| Badrakali lake | Telangana | Warangal | Freshwater | Artificial lake |
| Osman Sagar | Telangana | — | — | — |
| Himayat Sagar | Telangana | — | — | Artificial lake |
| Pakhal Lake | Telangana | — | — | Artificial lake |
| Shamirpet Lake | Telangana | — | — | Artificial lake |
| Saroornagar Lake | Telangana | — | — | Artificial lake |
| Durgam Cheruvu | Telangana | Rangareddy | ||
| Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar | Uttar Pradesh | Sonbhadra | Man-made lake | Rihand dam |
| Belasagar | Uttar Pradesh | Kulpahar | Freshwater | Irrigation lake |
| Bhimtal | Uttarakhand | Nainital | Freshwater | Medium altitude lake |
| East Calcutta wetlands | West Bengal | Calcutta | Brackish water | Ramsar wetland |
