Lonar lake – a crater lake – in Buldhana district of Maharashtra, India has turned red in a span of only a few days. As environmental enthusiasts gasp at the natural phenomenon, geologists have attributed this flamingo-hued shade of the lake to changing salinity levels and presence of algae in the water.
Crux of the Matter
About The Lake The Lonar crater is a notified National Geo-heritage Monument, also called soda lake affectionately by the villagers residing in Buldhana district. It was created by the collision of a two million tonne heavy meteor at a speed of 90,000 kmph with earth during the Pleistocene Epoch, which spans the world’s most recent period of repeated glaciations. It is one of the four hyper-velocity, impact craters in basaltic rock anywhere on Earth, the other three being in Brazil.
From Green to Pink; Lonar Crater Lake has changed its colour.#LonarLake #LonarCrater #SaltWaterLake #MaharashtraTourism pic.twitter.com/2HmvOiyr6h — Maharashtra Tourism (@maha_tourism) June 10, 2020
What Is Causing The Chameleon-like Behaviour? Gajanan Kharat, a local geologist, notes that this has happened before, but was not as prominent. He adds, “The amount of water in the lake has reduced and the lake has become shallower, so the salinity has gone up and caused some internal changes.” The researchers are now investigating if the presence of red algae indeed caused the colour to change from emerald green. Samples are being sent to several labs to confirm the same via standard scientific processes.
Here is a video by Mr.Gajanan Kharat, Geologist, explaining to us why the colour of #LonarCrater Lake has changed. #LonarLake #MaharashtraTourism #MaharashtraUnlimited #Lonar pic.twitter.com/plZx7YFnF8 — Maharashtra Tourism (@maha_tourism) June 11, 2020
Religious Significance Of The Lake It is an exemplary example of early Hindu architecture as numerous temples in ruins surround the lake. These temples depict early Indian architecture. The Daitya Sudan Temple, at the center of Lonar, is dedicated to Lord Vishnu’s victory over the giant Lonasur. Its star-shaped carvings are very similar to Khajuraho. It also consists a deity made of ore with high metal content, suggesting it could may have earlier been a sun temple. The other temples built by the villagers inside the crater include Vishnumandir, Wagh Mahadev, Mora Mahadev, Munglyacha Mandir, and Goddess Kamalaja Devia.
Gaumukh Temple lying on the edge of the crater has a perennial stream where pilgrims bathe.
Curiopedia
Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy drama film written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film with a total gross of $359 million, became the highest-grossing anime film. Story of the film revolves around a comet whose pieces crash into Earth and destroys a town.
The Leonids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Tempel–Tuttle, which are also known for their spectacular meteor storms that occur about every 33 years. The first great meteor storm in the modern era was the Leonids of November 1833.
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