Lonar crater
Also called: Lonar Lake · Topic: Origin and Evolution of the Earth and the Solar System · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Lonar crater is a near-circular crater lake made by a meteorite crashing into Deccan basalt (dark volcanic rock formed from old lava flows). The crash blasted out a bowl, and water later collected in it. The lake's water is saline (salty) and alkaline (the opposite of acidic). Lonar is a rare example of an impact crater in basalt, and it became a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance) in November 2020.
Example
Lonar Lake is in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, on the Deccan Plateau. Other impact structures in India include Dhala in Madhya Pradesh and Ramgarh in Rajasthan.
Don't confuse with
- Volcanic crater lake: it forms in the mouth of a volcano. Lonar sits in volcanic rock, but it was made by a meteorite impact and not by a volcano.