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Four special lakes of India, Lonar, Ramgarh, Luna and Dhal are living examples of cosmic collisions. These places were formed millions of years ago due to the collision of meteorites. This rare geological phenomenon shows how cosmic energy permanently changed Earth’s landscape, creating these unique lakes, which are a wonderful marriage of science and history.
Lonar Lake Maharashtra: This is the most famous and only fully authenticated meteorite crater lake in India. This lake is directly related to space because it was formed by the impact of a high-velocity meteorite about 50,000 to 5,70,000 years ago. Presence of rare, pressure-formed minerals such as “maskelynite”, which form only under extreme shock. This confirms its extraterrestrial origin.
Ramgarh Crater, Rajasthan: This site is proof that destructive cosmic collisions have sometimes occurred on Earth. Despite excessive erosion, geological evidence such as shocked quartz and impact breccia is found here, which confirms its formation by a meteorite impact. The Parvati Kund (a saline and alkaline seasonal lake) present within it is probably part of the original crater.
Luna Crater, Gujarat: This crater located in Kutch, Gujarat is important for scientists. Here scientists have found glassy impact fragments and high-pressure minerals such as coesite and stishovite. These minerals clearly show that this site was hit by a very strong meteorite, which created a shallow lake of about 1 square kilometer, which dries up in summer.
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Dhal Crater, Madhya Pradesh: It is India’s largest (estimated at 11 km diameter) and one of the oldest known meteorite impact sites in Asia, dating back more than 2 billion years. Although there is no longer a clear, permanent lake here due to excessive erosion, its sheer size and ancient origins make it an extraordinary historical record of cosmic events.
Rare Blend of Ecology and Science: Lonar Lake has a unique ecology, including its highly alkaline and saline waters, making it a rare geological laboratory on Earth. These craters are not only a subject of geological curiosity, but also show how nature has adapted to these destructive cosmic scars over millions of years.
Diversity and Challenges: There are several other known impact sites in India that no longer contain permanent lakes (such as Dhaal). In many places water bodies exist only as shallow, ephemeral or wetlands. This highlights how rare and unique a geological phenomenon it is to have permanent lakes in these space-formed craters.
