LAKES – TYPES, SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS
You may be familiar with the valley of Kashmir and the famous Dal Lake, the house boats and shikaras, which attract thousands of tourists every year. Similarly, you may have visited some other tourist spot near a lake and enjoyed boating, swimming and other water games.
Imagine that if Srinagar, Nainital and other tourists places did not have a lake would they have been as attractive as they are today? Have you ever tried to know the importance of lakes in making a place attractive to tourists? Apart from attraction for tourists, lakes are also useful to human beings in many ways.
India has many lakes. These differ from each other in size and other characteristics. Most lakes are permanent; some contain water only during the rainy season, like the lakes in the basins of inland drainage of semi-arid regions. There are some lakes which are the result of the action of glaciers and ice sheets, while others have been formed by wind, river action and human activities.
A meandering river across a floodplain forms cut-offs that later develops into ox-bow lakes. Spits and bars form lagoons in the coastal areas, e.g. the Chilika lake, the Pulicat lake and the Kolleru lake. Lakes in the region of inland drainage are sometimes seasonal; for example, the Sambhar lake in Rajasthan, which is a salt water lake. Its water is used for producing salt.
Most of the freshwater lakes are in the Himalayan region. They are of glacial origin. In other words, they formed when glaciers dug out a basin, which was later filled with snowmelt. The Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir, in contrast, is the result of tectonic activity. It is the largest freshwater lake in India. The Dal lake, Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak and Barapani are some other important freshwater lakes.
Figure 3.6: Loktak Lake
Apart from natural lakes, the damming of the rivers for the generation of hydel power has also led to the formation of lakes, such as Guru Gobind Sagar (Bhakra Nangal Project).
Lakes are of great value to human beings. A lake helps to regulate the flow of a river. During heavy rains, it prevents flooding and during the dry season, it helps to maintain an even flow of water. Lakes can also be used for developing hydel power. They moderate the climate of the surroundings; maintain the aquatic ecosystem, enhance natural beauty, help develop tourism and provide recreation.
Activity :
1. Make a list of natural and artificial lakes with the help of the atlas.
Source: This topic is taken from NCERT TEXTBOOK