User:Rajeshsnpp

Lonar crater lake A series of small hills surround the basin which has an oval shape (almost round) with circumference at top of about 8 km (five miles). The sides of the basin rise abruptly at an angle of about 75°. At the base, the lake has a circumference of about 4.8 km (three miles). The slopes are covered with tree-savannah, housing teak (Tectona grandis), Wrightia tinctoria, Butea monosperma, and Helicteres isora. Shrub-savannah with Acacia nilotica and Ziziphus spp. covers the crater wall. Along the lake shore, non-native Prosopis juliflora is spreading.[14] The northeastern alluvial terrace, along the dhara river fan, is used for agriculture. Millet, maize, lady's finger, banana and papaya are the main cultivated crops. Buldhana district in Maharashtra, where the lake is located, near by villages are chincholi sangle,lonar bus stop etc. The salts collected from this lake vary in their nature and composition and from their-appearance are easily separated by men accustomed to handling them. Various names are given to some five or six main varieties, but there is no fixed line between one salt and another, their compositions depending upon the period and condition of crystallization. At the present time large quantities of these salts are lying on the shores of the lake... Lake ecosystem The chemical characteristics of the lake shows two distinct regions that do not mix - an outer neutral (pH 7) and an inner alkaline (pH 11) each with its own flora and fauna. The lake is a haven for a wide range of plant and animal life. Resident and migratory birds such as black-winged stilts, brahminy ducks, grebes, shelducks (European migrants), shovellers, teals, herons, red-wattled lapwings, rollers or blue jays, baya weavers, parakeet hoopoes, larks, tailorbirds, magpies, robins and swallows are found on the lake. Among reptiles, the monitor lizard is reported to be prominent. The lake is also home to thousands of peafowls, chinkara and gazelles