Lonar
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Lonar | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Lonar crater lake in Buldhana district (Maharashtra) | |
  Lonar Location in Maharashtra, India | |
| Coordinates: 19°59′N 76°31′E / 19.98°N 76.52°E | |
| Country |  India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Buldhana |
| Founded by | Indian ecological dept |
| Elevation | 563 m (1,847 ft) |
| Population (2001) | |
• Total | 20,082 |
| Languages | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 443302[1] |
Lonar is a town, just 79 km from Buldhana city and municipal council in Buldhana district of Vidarbha region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is the headquarter of Lonar taluka and is located near Mehkar.
Lonar is famous for Lonar crater and Lonar Lake, which is located at 19°58′N 76°30′E / 19.967°N 76.500°E. It is a meteorite crater created in the Pleistocene Epoch. The crater contains salt water lake is 1.8 km in diameter and is about 137 m below the level of the crater rim. A small fresh water stream drains into the lake. Due to evaporite effects, the lake is mineral rich and salty and sodium and potassium salts are extracted from it.
Lonar is situated around 360 km from Nagpur, around 100 km from Buldhana, around 100 km from Akola, 550 km from Mumbai, around 160 km from Aurangabad and around 140 km southeast of the Ajanta Caves, about 4½ hours drive via Buldhana.[2]
Lonar town is located at 19°59′06″N 76°31′23″E / 19.98500°N 76.52306°E.[3] It has an average elevation of 563 m (1847 feet).
Demographics
As of the 2001 Indian census,[4] Lonar had a population of 20,082. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Lonar has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 58%. In Lonar, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.
| Year | Male | Female | Total Population | Change | Religion (%) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hindu | Muslim | Christian | Sikhs | Buddhist | Jain | Other religions and persuasions | Religion not stated | |||||
| 2001[5] | 10388 | 9694 | 20082 | - | 55.089 | 32.243 | 0.080 | 0.045 | 8.127 | 4.258 | 0.105 | 0.055 |
| 2011[6] | 12114 | 11302 | 23416 | 0.166 | 52.985 | 35.194 | 0.056 | 0.004 | 8.071 | 3.557 | 0.004 | 0.128 |
Lonar crater
The Lonar crater is the world's only salt water lake in basaltic rock, believed to have been caused by a meteorite hitting Earth around 52,000 years ago.[7] It is surrounded by forests with a large variety of birds, particularly peacocks, owls, red-wattled lapwings and ducks.
Flora and fauna
Lonar has its own ecological system. As the sun sets, the entire lake appears differently. The lake water sweeps across the shore like sea water, and the birds, wolves, peacocks and other creatures start making their presence felt. It is a wonderful scene to watch the sun rising or setting below the lake walls. The lake has a remarkable presence of splinters of glass confirming the meteorite's impact, which caused the enormous temperature rise thereby turning the sand into glass.
Ambar lake
This lake was formed by a small meteor which might have been separated from the main meteor. Shags
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