Lakes in India

[UPSC Notes]
What is a Lake?
Lake is a surface water body that is surrounded by land. Rivers will be outlets or inlets to the
lakes, i.e. lakes take the water from rivers or act as a water source. Lakes are found in
landscapes like Hilly areas, plains, plateaus, rift zones, etc. There are many lakes in India, of
which 62 are important lakes in India, i.e., lakes in almost all the states and Union territories.

Type of Lakes in India

India is a land with many water bodies, including lakes, rivers, and other water bodies. Lakes
are significant sources that add to the land's natural beauty. The lakes are formed from the
water that comes from the rain, streams, snow, melting ice, and groundwater seepage. Based
on the source of water, the types of lakes in India are as follows-
1. Freshwater Lakes - They are unsalted water which are usually found in low lying areas
these are fed from rivers, streams, and runoff from the surrounding area. In India, the
largest freshwater lake in Wular Lake.
2. Saltwater Lakes - As the name suggests saltwater lake contains a concentration of
salts and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (at least 3 grams
per litre of water).
3. Artificial Lakes - It is a man-made lake that is used to store water for public use.
4. Oxbow Lakes - It is formed when a wide meander of a river is cut off. A lake is then
formed when the river finds a different shorter course.
5. Crater Lakes- It is created from the collapse or explosive activity of volcanic eruptions.

List of the Important Lakes in India [State-Wise]

Here is a table of the important lakes in India with their location.

Lakes in India District State/UT Types of Lakes

Pulicat Lake Sullurpet Andhra Brackish Water

Pradesh

Kolleru Lake Vijayawada Andhra Freshwater

Pradesh

Nagarjuna Sagar Nalgonda Andhra Freshwater

Pradesh

Silchar Assam Freshwater

Haflong Lake

DeeporBeel Kamrup Assam Freshwater (Tectonically

formed)
Son Beel Karimganj Assam Freshwater

Chandubi lake Kamrup Assam Oxbox (Freshwater)

Kanwar Lake Begusarai Bihar Oxbox (Freshwater)

Hamirsar lake Kutch Gujarat Artificial

Kankaria lake Ahmedabad Gujarat Artificial

Narayan Sarovar Kutch Gujarat Artificial Freshwater

Thol Lake Mehsana Gujarat Lentic lake

Vastrapur Ahmedabad Gujarat Freshwater

Badkal Lake Faridabad Haryana Freshwater

Blue Bird Lake Hisar Haryana Freshwater

Brahma Sarovar Thaneswar Haryana Freshwater

Damdama Lake Sohna Haryana Freshwater

Karna Karnal Haryana Freshwater

Tilyar Rohtak Haryana Freshwater ((canal

inflow)

Chandra Taal Lahul and Spiti Himachal Sweetwater lake

Pradesh

Suraj Taal Lahul and Spiti Himachal Freshwater (High

Pradesh Altitude)

Maharana Pratap Sagar Kangra Himachal Freshwater

Pradesh

Prashar lake Mandi Himachal Holomitic (Freshwater)

Pradesh

Agara lake Bangalore Karnataka Freshwater

Bellandur Lake Bangalore Karnataka Freshwater

Karanji lake Mysore Karnataka -

Ulsoor lake Bangalore Karnataka Stale water

Kukarahalli lake Mysore Karnataka Freshwater

Honnamana Kodagu Karnataka Freshwater

Pampa Sarovar Hampi Karnataka Freshwater

Ashtamudi Kayal Kollam Kerala Brackish water

Kuttanad Alappuzha, Kerala Brackish water

Kottayam

Vembanad _ Kerala Brackish water

Shashtamkotta Kollam Kerala Freshwater

Bhojtal Bhopal Madhya Freshwater

Pradesh

Salim Ali Aurangabad Maharashtra Freshwater

Shivsagar Satara Maharashtra Freshwater

Lonar lake Buldhana Maharashtra Crater lake

Loktak lake - Manipur Lenticular freshwater

Umiam Shillong Meghalaya Freshwater

Tam Dil Saitual Mizoram Freshwater

Chilika lake Puri Orissa Brackish water

Kanjia lake Bhubaneswar Orissa Freshwater

Harike Ferozepur Punjab Freshwater

Rupar Rupnagar Punjab Freshwater

Kanjli Kapurthala Punjab Freshwater

Sambhar lake Sambhar Lake- Rajasthan Saltwater

town

Rajsamand Rajsamand Rajasthan Freshwater

Tsomgo lake East Sikkim Sikkim Freshwater

Khecheoplari West Sikkim Sikkim Freshwater

Ooty lake Nilgiris Tamil Nadu Freshwater

Chembarambakkam Chennai Tamil Nadu Artificial lake

Hussain Sagar Hyderabad Telangana Artificial lake

Badrakali lake Warangal Telangana Freshwater

 Govind Ballabh Pant Sonbhadra Uttar Pradesh Man-made lake
Sagar

Belasagar Kulpahar Uttar Pradesh Freshwater

Bhimtal Nainital Uttarakhand Freshwater

East Calcutta wetlands Calcutta West Bengal Brackish water

List of Important Lakes in Union Territories

The given list provides you with a list of lakes in the Union Territories.

State Lakes in District Type of Facts/Description

India Lakes

Chandigarh Sukhna Chandigarh Reservoir -

Lake

Ladakh Tso Moriri Ladakh Brackish Known as

or Lake 'Mountain Lake'
Moriri

Tso Kar Ladakh Fluctuating -

Salt Lake

Pangong Leh - -
Tso

Jammu & Dal lake Srinagar Warm Remnants of the

Kashmir monomitic past glacial period
 Nageen Srinagar Eutrophic Seldomly
Lake Lake considered to be a
part of Dal Lake

Pangong Ladakh Endorheic Indo-China Border

Tso Lake (saline
water)

Wular lake Bandipora Tectonic The largest

lake freshwater lake in
(freshwater) India

TsoMoriri Ladakh Saltwater High altitude lake

West East Calcutta Brackish Ramsar wetland

Bengal Calcutta water
wetlands

Puducherry Bahour Puducherry - The second largest

Lake lake in Puducherry
 Ousteri Puducherry Man-Made It is also called
Lake Lake Ossudu Lake as it
(Important is located in the
Wetlands in village named
India) Ossudu.
It is the largest lake
of Puducherry.

Velrampet Puducherry - -
Lake

Nallambal Karaikal Artificial

Lake Lake

Famous Lakes in India

A few of these important lakes of Indis are explained below-
• Kolleru Lake- It is located in one of the largest freshwater lakes located between
Godavari and Krishna delta in Andhra Pradesh. It is the home to many migratory birds,
with Atapaka Bird Sanctuary at its belt.
• Sambhar Lake– It is the largest inland salt lake in India in Rajasthan. This lake has
mythological meaning. As per Mahabharat, this lake was part of king Brishparva's
kingdom.
• Wular Lake– The Wular lake is situated in Jammu Kashmir, covering an area of 10km in
breadth and 24km in length. It is the largest freshwater lake in India and stands second
on the list of Asia's largest freshwater lakes.
• Pulicat Lake- Pulicat lake is situated in Andhra Pradesh. Along with the lake, Pulicat
Bird Sanctuary, with birds like kingfishers, flamingos, sight storks, etc., is a source of
tourism.
• Pushkar Lake – Pushkar lake is another Hindu sacred lake in Rajasthan. It is described
as the Tritha-Guru in Hindu scripts.
 • Sasthamcotta Lake – It is Kerala's largest freshwater lake that is surrounded by hills on
three sides. Along with the lake, the ancient Sastha temple is the centre of attraction for
tourists.
• Vembanad Lake- The Aranmula temple, the Vaikom and Thyckkal beaches along the
side of the Vembanad of Kerala has importance in terms of tourism. The park along it
accounts for attracting people towards the beauty.

Largest Lake in India

The largest lake in India is the Vembanad Lake. It is the largest lake in India, situated in the
district of Kerela with an area of 2033 sq. km. The top 10 largest lakes in India, along with the
states are as follows-

S.no. List of Biggest Lakes in India (Increasing order State/UT Area

of area covered) covered

1. Wular lake Jammu and 260 sq km

Kashmir

2. Loktak Lake Manipur 285 sq km

3. Nagarjuna Sagar Lake Telangana 287 sq km

4. Sardar Sarovar Lake Gujarat 375 sq km

5. Pulicat Lake Andhra Pradesh 450 sq. km

6. Pangong Lake Ladakh 627 sq. km

7. Indira Sagar lake Madhya Pradesh 700 sq. km

8. Shivaji Sagar Lake Maharashtra 891.7 sq km

9. Chilika Lake Odisha 1165 sq km

10. Vembanad Lake Kerala 2033 sq km

Important Uses of Lakes in India

India has about 4% of the global freshwater but unfortunately, the country is facing the worst
water crisis ever. In such a scenario, the lakes hold a great deal of importance to India. Here are
some of the importance that the lakes provide to us:
• Drinking water
• Irrigation
• Navigation
• Water storage
• Livelihood (fishing, etc.)
• Home to aquatic animals
• Impact on microclimate, etc.
Important Facts About Lakes in India
Here are some of the commonly asked questions about Lakes in India. Read the essential facts
about the famous lakes in India.
• Largest freshwater lake in India – Wular Lake, Jammu and Kashmir.
• Largest Artificial Lake in India – Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar (Rihand Dam).
• Highest lake in India (Altitude) – Cholamu lake, Sikkim.
• Largest Saline water lake in India – Chilka Lake, Odisha.
• Longest Lake in India – Vembanad lake, Kerala