Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument,[2][3][4] saline, soda lake, located at Lonar,

just 79 km from Buldhana city in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India. Lonar Lake is an astrobleme created by a meteorite im-
pact during the Pleistocene Epoch.[5][6] It is one of only four known hyper-velocity impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on
Earth. The other three basaltic impact structures are in southern Brazil.[7] Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres
(3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) in diame-
ter.[8]
Lonar Crater sits inside the Deccan Plateau – a massive plain of volcanic basalt rock created by eruptions some 65 million years
ago. Its location in this basalt field suggested to some geologists that it was a volcanic crater. Today, however, Lonar Crater is
understood to be the result of a meteorite impact.[9] The water in the lake is both saline and alkaline.
Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have published studies on various aspects of the ecosystem
of this crater lake.[10]
Although the crater's age was previously estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years,[11] newer studies suggest an age of 576,000 ±
47,000 years.[12][13]
The Smithsonian Institution, the United States Geological Survey, Geological Survey of India, the University of Sagar and
the Physical Research Laboratory have conducted extensive studies of the site.[14][15] Biological nitrogen fixation was discovered
in this lake in 2007.[16]
A 2019 study, conducted by IIT Bombay found that the minerals in the lake soil are very similar to the minerals found in Moon
rocks brought back during the Apollo Program.[17] The lake was declared a protected Ramsar site in November 2020.[18]

Geographical features[edit]

View of the crater from the edge. A temple is visible in the

forest underneath.
A series of small hills surround the basin, which has an oval shape, almost round, with a circumference at top of about 8 km
(five miles). The sides of the basin rise abruptly at an angle of about 75°. At the base of the sides, the lake has a circumference
of about 4.8 km (three miles). The slopes are covered with tree-savannah, housing teak (Tectona grandis), Wrightia
tinctoria, Butea monosperma, and Helicteres isora, and with shrub-savannah housing Acacia nilotica and Ziziphus spp.. Along
the lake shore, non-native Prosopis juliflora is spreading.[19] Millet, maize, okra, banana, and papaya are the main cultivated
crops.
The water of the lake contains various salts and sodas. During dry weather, when evaporation reduces the water level, large
quantities of soda are collected. Two small streams, named Purna and Penganga,[20] drain into the lake, and a well of fresh
water is located on the southern side, close to the water's edge.[21]

Geological origin[edit]
Lonar crater
 Lonar crater

Asteroid impact location in Asia

Impact crater/structure

Confidence Confirmed

Diameter 1.8 km (1.1 mi)

Depth 290 m (950 ft)

Age 570 ± 47 Ka

Country India

View of the crater from space (image captured

by NASA satellite) Satellite view of Lonar crater lake

Lonar Lake lies within the only known extraterrestrial impact crater found within the great Deccan Traps, a huge basaltic forma-
tion in India.[22] The lake was initially believed to be of volcanic origin, but now it is recognized as an impact crater. Lonar Lake
was created by the impact of either a comet or of an asteroid. The presence of plagioclase that has been either converted
into maskelynite or contains planar deformation features has confirmed the impact origin of this crater. It is believed that
only shock metamorphism caused by a hypervelocity impact can transform plagioclase into maskelynite, or create planar defor-
mation features. The presence of impact deformation of basalt layers comprising the rim, of shocked breccia inside the crater,
of shatter cones, and of the non-volcanic ejecta blanket surrounding the crater all support the impact origin of Lonar Lake.[citation
needed]

The crater has an oval shape. The meteorite impact came from the east, at an angle of 35 to 40 degrees.[23]
There are various estimates of the age of the crater. Earlier thermoluminescence analyses gave a result of 52,000 years, while
recent argon-argon dating suggests that the crater is much older; it could be 570 000 ± 47 000 years old. This greater age is in
line with the degree of erosion of the crater rim.[24][23]
As a result of the studies, the geological features of the Lonar crater have been divided into five distinguishable zones, exhibit-
ing distinct geomorphic characteristics.[25] The five zones are:[26]
1. The outermost ejecta blanket
2. The crater rim
3. The slopes of the crater
4. The crater basin, excluding lake
5. The crater lake

History[edit]
The lake was first mentioned in ancient scriptures such as the Skanda Purana and the Padma Purana.[citation needed]
The Ain-i-Akbari, a document written about 1600 CE, states:
These mountains produce all the requisites for making glass