List of important lakes in India: This article will give you information about the major lakes of India.
Lakes are a beautiful gift of nature. More lakes are found in the northern mountainous regions than in the plains of India.
In this article, you will read what is a lake, state wise list of lakes in India, Artificial lakes in India, and some other important facts about lakes in India.
Let us first know what is a lake.
What is a lake?
"Lakes are usually large body of water that is surrounded by land. Lakes are large bodies of slowly moving or standing water.
The lakes form, develop, gradually fill with sediment and turn into swamps and when they rise up they become equal to the nearby land.
The state-wise list of important lakes located in India is as follows -
Sr.no. |
State |
Lakes |
1 |
Jammu and Kashmir |
Dal Lake, Wular Lake, Barinag Lake, Manas Bal Lake, Sheshnag Lake, Anantnag Lake, Nagin Lake, Mansar Sarovar |
2 |
Himachal Pradesh |
Maharana Pratap Sagar, Bhrigu Lake, Nako Lake, Renuka Lake, Suraj Tal, Chandra Tal, Pong Dam Lake |
3 |
Uttarakhand |
Nainital, Bhimtal, Saat taal, Devtal, Naukuchiatal, Khurpatal, Rakstal, Roopkund |
4 |
Haryana |
Brahma Sarovar, Karna Lake, Suraj Kund |
5 |
Punjab |
Govind Sagar Lake, Harike Lake, Kanjali Lake |
6 |
Sikkim |
Cholamu Lake, Songma Lake |
7 |
Manipur |
Loktak Lake |
8 |
Uttar Pradesh |
Fulhar Lake, Kitham Lake, Baruasagar Tal, Gomat Tal, Sarsai Navar Lake |
9 |
Madhya Pradesh |
Bhoj taal |
10 |
Gujarat |
Nal Sarovar Lake |
11 |
Rajasthan |
Sambhar Lake (Jaipur), Pachpadra Lake (Barmer), Didwana (Nagaur), Lunkaransar (Bikaner), Fatehsagar Lake (Udaipur), Nakki Lake, Mount Abu (Sirohi), Pushkar Lake, Rajsamand Lake, Anasagar Lake, Pichola Lake |
12 |
Maharashtra |
Lonar lake |
13 |
Orissa |
Chilka Lake |
14 |
Andra Pradesh |
Kolleru Lake, Pulicat Lake |
15 |
Kerala |
Ashtamudi Lake, Vembanad Lake, Sasthamkotta Lake |
16 |
Tamil Nadu |
Pulicat Lake, Kodaikanal Lake |
17 |
Assam |
Chapnala Lake, Deepor Beel |
18 |
Meghalaya |
Umiam Lake |
19 |
Ladakh |
Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Tso Kar Lake |
20 |
Tripura |
Rudrasagar Lake |
21. |
Bihar |
Kabar Tal |
There are mainly two types of lakes - Natural lakes and man-made lakes.
Natural lakes are lakes created by nature. Types of natural lakes -
Glacial lakes - When glaciers reach their final stage of melting, the glacial or moraine found in them acts as a barrier, causing the meltwater to collect in the rough terrain and form the lake. These types of lakes are found in the mountainous part of the north.
Uttarakhand's Naini Lake, Raksatal, is an example of a glacial lake.
Tectonic lake - Sometimes internal ditch is formed due to movement inside the earth, in which internal lakes are formed when filled with water.
The Caspian Sea (Russia) and Wular lake located in Jammu and Kashmir are examples of this type of lake.
Volcanic lake- The volcanoes or craters of inactive volcanic mountains take the form of lakes when they are filled with water.
The Lonar lake of Maharashtra is an example of this type of lake.
Lagoon Lake - A lagoon is a shallow water area at the edge of a wide water body such as a sea or ocean, which is partially or completely separated from the sea by a barrier (sand, coral reef). It is also called Anoop Lake.
Chilika Lake in Orissa, Kolaru Lake in Andhra Pradesh, Pulicat Lake in Tamil Nadu, Vembanad in Kerala, and Ashtamudi Lake are examples of lagoon lakes.
Aeolian lake - These types of lakes are formed as a result of the erosion of the wind. They are also called playa lakes. Rajasthan's Sambhar Lake, Panchbhadra Lake, and Lunkaransar Lake are examples of this type of lake.
These types of lakes are created by humans, they are also called artificial lakes. Artificial lakes are created for irrigation, power generation, water supply, and natural beauty.
Artificial lake in Uttar Pradesh
Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar Lake - This lake is created by holding the water of the Rihand river. This lake is located in the Sonbhadra district of Uttar Pradesh. Rihand river is a tributary of the Son river. It is the largest artificial lake in India.
Artificial lake in Madhya Pradesh
Gandhisagar Lake - This lake is formed due to the construction of the Gandhi Sagar Dam which is built on the Chambal river.
Artificial lake in Rajasthan
Jawahar Sagar Lake, and Rana Pratap Sagar Lake - These lakes are built on the Chambal River.
Jaisamand Lake - This lake is located in the southeast of the Aravalli ranges of Rajasthan. This lake is the second largest artificial lake in Asia. The name of the largest island of Jaisamand Lake is Baba Ka Bhakra and the name of the smallest is Payari.
Pachpadra Lake - Pachpadra Lake is a salt water lake in Rajasthan, which is located in Pachpadra village of Balotra tehsil of Barmer district of the state. Salt is produced from this lake. In this lake, people of Kharwal caste make salt crystals from Morli bush. The settlements around this lake were built by a Bhil named Pancha after drying the swamp.
The salt obtained from this lake is of high quality as it contains up to 98% sodium chloride.
Artificial lake in Himachal Pradesh
Govind Sagar Lake - This lake is formed due to the construction of Bhakra Dam on the Sutlej River. This lake is named after the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, Govind Singh. This lake is located in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh.
Artificial lake in Tamilnadu
Stanley Reservoir - This lake is formed due to the construction of the Mettur dam on river Kaveri.
Artificial lake in kerala
Periyar Lake - Periyar Lake is formed due to the construction of a dam on the Periyar River.
Artificial lake in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
Nagarjuna Sagar Lake - Nagarjuna Sagar Lake is formed after the construction of Nagarjuna Sagar Dam on the Krishna River.
Hussain Sagar Lake - It is an artificial lake located in Hyderabad, Telangana state. It separates Hyderabad from its twin city Secunderabad.
The total number of Ramsar sites in India is 49. The lakes included in the list of Ramsar sites in India are as follows -
S.No. |
Lakes are included in the list of Ramsar sites |
State |
declaration year |
1. |
Kolleru Lake |
Andra Pradesh |
2002 |
2. |
Deepor Beel |
Assam |
2002 |
3. |
Chandratal, Pong dam Lake, Renuka Lake, |
Himachal Pradesh |
2005, 2002, 2005 |
4. |
Surinsar-Mansar Lakes, Wular Lake |
Jammu and Kashmir |
2005, 1990 |
5. |
Tso-moriri, Tso kar lake |
Ladakh |
2020 |
6. |
Ashtamudi Wetland, Sasthamkotta Lake, Vembanad Lake |
Kerala |
2002 |
7. |
Bhoj Taal |
Madhya Pradesh |
2002 |
8. |
Loktak Lake |
Manipur |
1990 |
9. |
Chilka Lake |
Odisha |
1981 |
10. |
Harike Lake, Kanjali Lake |
Punjab |
1990, 2002 |
11. |
Sambhar Lake |
Rajasthan |
1990 |
12. |
Rudrasagar Lake |
Tripura |
2005 |
13. |
Sarsai Navar Lake, Keetham Lake |
Uttar Pradesh |
2019, 2020 |
14. |
Kabar Taal |
Bihar |
2020 |
15. |
Lonar lake |
Maharashtra |
2020 |
Which is the largest saltwater lake in India?
Chilka Lake (Orissa)
Which is the largest freshwater lake in India?
Wular Lake (Jammu and Kashmir)
Which is the highest lake in India?
Cholamu or Tso Lhamo Lake (Sikkim)
Which is the second highest lake in India?
Devtal Lake (Uttarakhand)
Which is the saltiest lake in India?
Sambhar Lake (Rajasthan)