Other Indian Lakes

Deepor Beel : This is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra river, south-west of Guwahati city. It is a large natural wetland having great biological and environmental importance and is also the only major storm water storage basin for Guwahati. The beel is endowed with rich floral and faunal diversity. In addition to a huge congregation of residential water birds, the Deepor ecosystem harbours a large number of migratory waterfowl each year. It is now threatened with large scale encroachment, brick making factory and soil cutting within the beel ecosystem, and construction of railway line along the southern boundary of the beel.

The Hussain Sagar Lake: This is one of the largest man-made lakes in Asia, located in the heart of Hyderabad, contributing to its immense beauty. It is a sprawling artificial lake that holds water perennially. It was built during the reign of Ibrahim Qutub Shah in 1562, on a tributary of the river Musi. The Tso Morari Lake : This is one of the largest in the Ladakh region and is almost like an inland sea. Situated at an elevation of about 4,900m, it is about 22km long, with a width varying from 5 to 7km and a depth of more than 30 m at the deepest point.

The lake is probably a leftover from the Ice Age, formed by the melt waters of the ice masses left behind by the retreating glaciers. The waters from the surrounding areas drained into the lake. The huge amounts of water present in the beginning evaporated very fast in the desert-like atmosphere and what was fresh water became brackish and finally salty, unfit for human consumption. One of the most spectacular lakes in Ladakh is the Pangong Tso, which lies across the Changla Pass from Leh.

At an altitude of almost 4,500 metres, the Pangong Tso is only 8 km wide at its broadest point, but is an amazing 134km long. The Pangong is considered to be the longest lake in Ladakh. It is a saltwater lake formed in much the same way as the Tso Morari lake during the Ice Age. There is considerable uncertainty about defining the difference between lakes and ponds. For example, limnologists have defined lakes as waterbodies which are simply a larger version of a pond or which have wave action on the shoreline, or where wind induced turbulence plays a major role in mixing the water column. None of these definitions completely excludes ponds and all are difficult to measure.