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India Cluster40 Verified Questions
Lakes of India GK Questions & Answers
India’s inland and coastal lacustrine systems represent diverse geomorphological, tectonic, and volcanic formations spanning fresh, brackish, and hypersaline limnological regimes. Vembanad Lake in Kerala constitutes India’s longest lake, extending over 96.5 kilometres with an area exceeding 2,033 square kilometres, separated from the Arabian Sea by barrier islands and hosting the Vallam Kali boat race during Onam. Chilika Lake in Odisha, situated at the mouth of the Daya River, is Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon, covering up to 1,165 square kilometres during monsoons; it became India’s inaugural Ramsar Wetland in 1981 alongside Keoladeo National Park and shelters endangered Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris). In the Kashmir Valley, Wular Lake represents the largest natural freshwater lake in India, formed through tectonic activity and sustained by the Jhelum River. Loktak Lake in Manipur is globally unique for its floating heterogeneous vegetative masses known as phumdis, supporting Keibul Lamjao National Park—the world’s sole floating national park and refuge of the sangai deer (Rucervus eldii eldii). Additionally, Maharashtra’s Lonar Lake is an endorheic hyper-saline soda lake created by a hyper-velocity meteorite impact in basaltic Deccan rock roughly 52,000 years ago, while Rajasthan’s Sambhar Lake produces substantial inland solar evaporative salt.
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Vembanad Lake in Kerala is India's longest lake (96.5 km) and largest wetland system, spanning Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts.
Chilika Lake in Odisha was designated India's first Ramsar site in October 1981 and removed from the Montreux Record in 2002 after successful ecological restoration.
Wular Lake in Bandipora district of Jammu & Kashmir is India's largest freshwater lake, formed by tectonic activity and fed by the Jhelum River.
Loktak Lake in Manipur is famous for phumdis (floating biomass mats) and houses Keibul Lamjao, the world's only floating national park.
Lonar Lake in Buldhana district, Maharashtra, is an ancient impact crater lake formed during the Pleistocene Epoch in basaltic Deccan traps.
Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan is India's largest inland saline lake, an endorheic basin receiving drainage from the Mendha, Runpangarh, Khari, and Khandel rivers.
Pulicat Lake, straddling Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, is India's second largest brackish lagoon, separated from the Bay of Bengal by the barrier island Sriharikota.
Kolleru Lake, located between the Krishna and Godavari deltas in Andhra Pradesh, is a major freshwater lake designated as a Ramsar site in 2002.
Pangong Tso in Ladakh is an endorheic saline lake situated at an elevation of 4,225 metres, with approximately 60% of its length extending into the Tibetan plateau.
Tso Moriri (Mountain Lake) in the Changthang plateau of Ladakh is a high-altitude brackish lake designated a Ramsar site in 2002 at 4,522 metres elevation.
Sasthamkotta Lake in Kollam district, Kerala, is known as the Queen of Lakes and represents the largest freshwater lake in the state.
Dal Lake in Srinagar is an urban eutrophic lake connected to Nagin Lake, renowned for traditional houseboats, shikaras, and floating vegetable gardens called radh.
Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar on the Rihand River in Sonbhadra district, Uttar Pradesh, is India's largest artificial man-made reservoir by volume.
Deepor Beel is a permanent freshwater lake in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River south of Guwahati, Assam, designated as a Ramsar site in 2002.
Thol Lake and Khijadiya Lake in Gujarat are critical bird sanctuaries on the Central Asian Flyway inscribed into the Ramsar Convention list in 2021-2022.
Chilika Lake, the largest coastal brackish water lagoon in India and a designated Ramsar wetland site, is located in which state?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake is situated at the mouth of the Daya River flowing into the Bay of Bengal across Puri, Khordha, and Ganjam districts in Odisha.
2ID: GK-WILD-00347
easyRamsar Wetland Sites & Biosphere Reserves
When India designated its first two Ramsar wetland sites in October 1981, which wetland in Rajasthan was designated alongside Odisha's Chilika Lake?
Verified Explanation
On 1 October 1981, Chilika Lake (Odisha) and Keoladeo National Park (Rajasthan) became the first two wetlands in India to be recognized as Ramsar sites of international importance.
3ID: GK-WATR-00024
easyNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water coastal lagoon in India and Asia, is situated in which state?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon spread over Puri, Khordha, and Ganjam districts of Odisha at the mouth of the Daya River, flowing into the Bay of Bengal.
4ID: GK-WATR-00178
hardHimalayan & Peninsular River Systems
Which narrow channel connects the main brackish lagoon of Chilika Lake to the Bay of Bengal near the village of Arakhakuda and Satapada?
Verified Explanation
Magarmukh is the narrow gateway where the outer channel branches off to connect the main body of Chilika lagoon with the Bay of Bengal.
5ID: GK-WATR-00505
easyNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water coastal lagoon in India, is located in which state?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake is a large brackish water lagoon spreading over Puri, Khordha and Ganjam districts along the eastern coast of Odisha.
6ID: GK-WATR-00565
easyNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
Chilika Lake, Asia's largest brackish water lagoon and India's first Ramsar site, is situated along the coast of which Indian state?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake is a large brackish water coastal lagoon situated across Puri, Khordha, and Ganjam districts of Odisha at the mouth of the Daya River.
7ID: GK-WATR-00633
mediumNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
In October 1981, Chilika Lake in Odisha was designated as India’s very first wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention alongside which other site?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake in Odisha and Keoladeo National Park (Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary) in Rajasthan were officially inscribed as India’s first two Ramsar Sites on 1 October 1981, inaugurating India’s formal participation in the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
8ID: GK-WATR-00634
hardNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
In September 2000, the Chilika Development Authority executed which major ecological intervention that successfully restored salinity, fish yield, and biodiversity to Chilika Lake?
Verified Explanation
Due to choked tidal inlets causing severe freshwater stagnation and weed infestation, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) engineered a new hydrological opening at Sipakuda into the Bay of Bengal on 23 September 2000. This milestone intervention restored natural estuarine salinity dynamics, leading to the removal of Chilika from the Montreux Record in 2002.
9ID: GK-WATR-00841
mediumNatural Lakes, Saline Lagoons & Waterfalls
Chilika Lake in Odisha was successfully removed from the Montreux Record in 2002 after the Chilika Development Authority implemented which landmark ecological restoration intervention?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake had suffered from siltation, choking of its outer channel, and a severe drop in salinity that degraded its fish and shrimp fisheries, leading to its placement on the Montreux Record in 1993. In September 2000, the Chilika Development Authority dredged and opened a new artificial mouth directly to the Bay of Bengal. This restored the tidal inflow, rejuvenated salinity levels, boosted fishery yields six-fold, and earned Chilika the prestigious Ramsar Wetland Conservation Award in 2002 upon its removal from the Record.
10ID: GK-GEOG-00030
mediumRivers & Drainage Systems
Which is the largest natural saltwater coastal lagoon in India?
Verified Explanation
Chilika Lake in Odisha covers over 1,100 sq km and is an internationally protected Ramsar site.