Sambhar Lake
| Sambhar Salt Lake | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Location | Rajasthan, India |
| Coordinates | 26°58′N 75°05′E / 26.967°N 75.083°ECoordinates: 26°58′N 75°05′E / 26.967°N 75.083°E |
| Type | Salt lake |
| Catchment area | 5,700 km2 (2,200 sq mi) |
| Basin countries | India |
| Max. length | 35.5 km (22.1 mi) |
| Max. width | 3 to 11 km (1.9 to 6.8 mi) |
| Surface area | 190 to 230 km2 (73 to 89 sq mi) |
| Average depth | 0.6 to 3 m (2.0 to 9.8 ft) |
| Max. depth | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
| Surface elevation | 360 m (1,180 ft) |
| Settlements | Sambhar Lake Town, Jabdinagar, Govindi, Gudha, Jhak, Nawa, Jhopak, Ulana. |
| Official name | Sambhar Lake |
| Designated | 25 March 1990 |
The Sambhar Salt Lake, India's largest inland salt lake, a bowl shape lake encircles historical Sambhar Lake Town located 96 km south west of the city of Jaipur (Northwest India) and 64 km north east of Ajmer along National Highway 8 in Rajasthan.
The lake receives water from an endorheic basin with 5700 square km catchment area. It is not part of the Ganga river basin area and is geographically a separate land locked river basin. The lake is actually an extensive saline wetland, with water depths fluctuating from as few as 60 centimetres (24 in) during the dry season to about 3 meters (10 ft) after the monsoon season. It occupies an area of 190 to 230 square kilometers, based on the season. It is an elliptically shaped lake 35.5 km long with a breadth varying between 3 km and 11 km. It is located in Nagaur and Jaipur districts and it also borders the Ajmer district. The circumference of the lake is 96 km, surrounded on all sides by the Aravali hills.
The Sambhar lake basin is divided by a 5.1 km long dam made of sandstone. After salt water reaches a certain concentration, it will be released from the west side to the eastern side by lifting dam gates. To the east of the dam are salt evaporation ponds where salt has been farmed for a thousand years. This eastern area is 80 km². and comprises salt reservoirs, canals and salt pans separated by narrow ridges. To the east of the dam is a railroad, built by the British (before India’s independence) to provide access from Sambhar Lake City to the salt works.
The nearest airport is Sanganer and the nearest railway station is Sambhar. The water is fed to the lake from streams from the rivers Mendha, Runpangarh, Khandel and Karian. The Mendha and Rupangarh are main streams. The Mendha flows from south to north and the Rupangarh flows from north to south.
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Wikipedia