Lakes and Wetlands
Types of lakes by origin
| Type | Formed by | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Tectonic | Earth movement | Wular (J&K), Pangong, Tso Moriri |
| Glacial | Glaciers | Gurudongmar, Tsomgo (Changu), Sheshnag, Gangabal |
| Oxbow | Cut-off meanders | Kanwar (Kabar Tal), Bihar |
| Lagoon | Sandbar closure | Chilika, Pulicat, Vembanad |
| Crater / meteor | Impact | Lonar (Maharashtra) |
| Salt / playa | Evaporation | Sambhar, Didwana, Pachpadra |
| Artificial | Dams | Gobind Sagar, Hussain Sagar, Jaisamand, Nagarjuna Sagar |
| Karst/Sinkhole | Limestone | Meghalaya |
Major lakes: table
| Lake | State / UT | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Wular | J&K (Bandipora) | Largest freshwater lake in India; tectonic; Ramsar (1990); fed by Jhelum |
| Dal | J&K (Srinagar) | Urban lake; houseboats, Shikara, floating gardens |
| Pangong Tso | Ladakh | About 134 km long; saltwater at high altitude; India-China (about 60% in Tibet) |
| Tso Moriri | Ladakh | Ramsar (2002); Rupshu |
| Tso Kar | Ladakh | Salt lake; Ramsar (2020) |
| Chilika | Odisha | Largest brackish water lagoon in India; Ramsar 1981; Irrawaddy dolphin |
| Sambhar | Rajasthan | Largest inland salt lake in India; Ramsar 1990 |
| Pulicat | AP-TN | Second-largest lagoon; flamingos |
| Vembanad | Kerala | Longest lake; Kuttanad; houseboats, Nehru Trophy boat race; Ramsar 2002 |
| Loktak | Manipur | Largest freshwater lake in NE India; phumdis (floating biomass); Keibul Lamjao (only floating national park, home of Sangai deer); Ramsar 1990 |
| Lonar | Maharashtra | Crater lake from meteor impact, saline-alkaline; Ramsar (2020) |
| Kolleru | AP | Freshwater; pelicans |
| Nal Sarovar | Gujarat | Birds |
| Hussain Sagar | Telangana | Artificial; Hyderabad |
| Renuka | Himachal | Largest natural lake in Himachal; Ramsar 2005 |
| Rudrasagar | Tripura | Neermahal palace; Ramsar |
| Deepor Beel | Assam | Guwahati; Ramsar 2002 |
| Harike | Punjab | Ramsar 1990; Beas-Sutlej confluence |
| Nainital, Bhimtal | Uttarakhand | Kumaon lakes |
| Sukhna | Chandigarh | Artificial |
Ramsar sites
- The Ramsar Convention (1971) protects wetlands of international importance; India joined in 1982; the first two Indian sites were Chilika (Odisha) and Keoladeo (Rajasthan) in 1981.
- India now has about 100 Ramsar sites (101 as of August 2026 according to the Ramsar list; a few new sites are added each year, so check the latest). Tamil Nadu has the most (about 20), followed by Uttar Pradesh.
- Largest by area: Sundarban Wetland (West Bengal, about 4.2 lakh hectares).
- J&K and Ladakh Ramsar sites: Wular, Hokersar, Hygam, Shallabugh, Mansar-Surinsar (J&K); Tso Moriri, Tso Kar (Ladakh).
- World Wetlands Day: 2 February.
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.