Lonar

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Lonar
Town
India Maharashtra location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lonar
Location in Maharashtra, India
Coordinates: 19°59′N76°31′E / 19.98°N 76.52°E / 19.98; 76.52 Coordinates: 19°59′N76°31′E / 19.98°N 76.52°E / 19.98; 76.52
CountryFlag of India.svg  India
State Maharashtra
District Buldhana
Founded byIndian ecological dept
Elevation
563 m (1,847 ft)
Population
 (2001)
 • Total20,082
Languages
 • Official Marathi
Time zone UTC+5:30 (IST)
PIN
443302 [1]

Lonar is a town and municipal council in Buldhana district of Vidarbha region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. The town is the headquarter of Lonar taluka and is located near Mehkar.

Contents

Lonar is famous for Lonar crater and Lonar Lake, which is located at 19°58′N76°30′E / 19.967°N 76.500°E / 19.967; 76.500 (Lonar Lake) . It is a meteorite crater created in the Pleistocene Epoch. The crater contains salt water lake is 1.8 km in diameter and is about 137 m below the level of the crater rim. A small fresh water stream drains into the lake. Due to evaporite effects, the lake is mineral rich and salty and sodium and potassium salts are extracted from it.

Geography

Lonar is situated around 360 km from Nagpur, around 100 km from Buldhana, around 100 km from Akola, 550 km from Mumbai, around 160 km from Aurangabad and around 140 km southeast of the Ajanta Caves, about 4½ hours drive via Buldhana. [2]

Lonar town is located at 19°59′06″N76°31′23″E / 19.98500°N 76.52306°E / 19.98500; 76.52306 (Lonar) . [3] It has an average elevation of 563 m (1847  feet).

Demographics

As of the 2001 Indian census, [4] Lonar had a population of 20,082. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Lonar has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 74%, and female literacy is 58%. In Lonar, 16% of the population is under 6 years of age.

YearMaleFemaleTotal PopulationChangeReligion (%)
HinduMuslimChristianSikhsBuddhistJainOther religions and persuasionsReligion not stated
2001 [5] 10388969420082-55.08932.2430.0800.0458.1274.2580.1050.055
2011 [6] 1211411302234160.16652.98535.1940.0560.0048.0713.5570.0040.128

Lonar crater

Lonar Panorama.JPG
Panoramic view of Lonar Crater

The Lonar crater is the world's only salt water lake in basaltic rock, believed to have been caused by a meteorite hitting Earth around 52,000 years ago. [7] It is surrounded by forests with a large variety of birds, particularly peacocks, owls, red-wattled lapwings and ducks.

Flora and fauna

Lonar has its own ecological system. As the sun sets, the entire lake appears differently. The lake water sweeps across the shore like sea water, and the birds, wolves, peacocks and other creatures start making their presence felt. It is a wonderful scene to watch the sun rising or setting below the lake walls. The lake has a remarkable presence of splinters of glass confirming the meteorite's impact, which caused the enormous temperature rise thereby turning the sand into glass.

Ambar lake

This lake was formed by a small meteor which might have been separated from the main meteor. Shags

Temples

Side profile of the Daitya Sudan temple Daitya Sudan.jpg
Side profile of the Daitya Sudan temple

Numerous temples surround the lake, around the rim of the crater and further down around the lake, most of which stand in ruins today, except for the temple of Daitya Sudan at the centre of the Lonar town, which was built in honour of Vishnu's victory over the giant Lonasur. It is a fine example of early Hindu architecture. [8] Vishnumandir, Wagh Mahadev, Mora Mahadev, Munglyacha Mandir and Goddess Kamalaja Devia are the other temples found inside the crater. [9]

Transport and tourism

Maharashtra Tourism Information Board at Lonar Crater depicting information about the same Maharashtra Tourism Information Board at Lonar Crater.jpg
Maharashtra Tourism Information Board at Lonar Crater depicting information about the same

The nearest train stations are Shegaon near Khamgaon and Malkapur near Bhusawal railway-junction, on the Mumbai-Bhusawal-Nagpur route of Central Railway of Indian Railways and is around 100 km from Lonar. Buses also run to Lonar from Nagpur, Akola, Buldhana, Malkapur, Jalna and Nanded.

If travelling from Nagpur, one must take a bus till Mehkar near Washim and then head to Lonar. From Mumbai or Pune, the most convenient route is to first reach Aurangabad via bus (Mumbai and Pune) or train/flight (from Mumbai only) and then take a state transport bus to Lonar. From Pune, air-conditioned and regular buses run every hour from the Shivajinagar bus stand to Aurangabad.

Maharashtra Tourism runs a resort just 50 meters from the lake. This property is modern, well maintained and cheap. There also are several low cost and simple accommodations called lodges available in the town.

The food available in Lonar has influence from both Khandesh and Marathwada cuisines. It is unique and simple but spicy.

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Buldhana district is located in the Amravati division of Maharashtra, India. It is situated at the western border of Vidarbha region and is 500 km away from the state capital, Mumbai. The district has towns and cities like Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod, Malkapur, Khamgaon, Lonar, Mehkar, and Chikhli. It is surrounded by Madhya Pradesh in the north, Akola, Washim, and Amravati districts on the east, Jalna district on the south, and Jalgaon and Aurangabad districts on the west. Khamgaon is the largest city in the district.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lonar Lake</span> Lake in India

Lonar Lake, also known as Lonar crater, is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, saline, soda lake, located at Lonar in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, India. Lonar Lake is an astrobleme created by a meteorite impact during the Pleistocene Epoch. 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. 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 diameter.

Malkapur Assembly constituency is one of the seven constituencies of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly located in the Buldhana district.

Mehkar Assembly constituency is one of the 288 constituencies of Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha and one of the seven which are located in the Buldhana district. It is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.

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The Lona Wildlife Sanctuary is situated around a lagoon called Lonar Lake, which was created by a meteorite impact about 50,000 years ago. The diameter of the Lonar lake is 1.83 km. This sanctuary located in Lonar taluka of Buldhana district of Maharashtra. The sanctuary is spread over an area of 365.16 square km. It includes the 77.69 Ha Lonar lake. The forest around the lake is mainly Southern Tropical dry Deciduous Forest. In 2020 the Lonar lake was declared as Ramsar site. The foul smell of hydrogen sulfide gas is common near the lake water.

References

  1. ↑ "Lonar Pin code". pin-code.net. Retrieved 19 July 2021.
  2. ↑ "Lonar Meteorite Crater, Maharastra - The India Info: Speaking about Life and Travel in India". www.theindia.info. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012.
  3. ↑ Falling Rain Genomics, Inc - Lonar
  4. ↑ "Census of India 2001: Data from the 2001 Census, including cities, villages and towns (Provisional)". Census Commission of India. Archived from the original on 16 June 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  5. ↑ Census India 2001.
  6. ↑ Census India 2011.
  7. ↑ Paul Antony, Chakkiath; Kumaresan, Deepak; Ferrando, Lucia; Boden, Rich; Moussard, Hélène; Fernández Scavino, Ana; Shouche, Yogesh S; Murrell, J Colin (2010). "Active methylotrophs in the sediments of Lonar Lake, a saline and alkaline ecosystem formed by meteor impact". The ISME Journal. 4 (11): 1470–1480. doi: 10.1038/ismej.2010.70 . PMID   20555363.
  8. ↑ Central Provinces Buldana district Gazetteer
  9. ↑ –Lonar more 29 March Lillyn Kamath
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