62 Most Important Natural Lakes in India

Lake is a surface water body which is surrounded by land. Rivers will be outlet or inlet to the lakes i.e. lakes take the water from rivers or act as a source of water.

Lakes are found in various landscapes like Hilly areas, plains, plateaus, rift zones, etc. In this article, we will read state wise list of Natural Lakes in India.

Natural Lakes in India (State Wise)

A) There are various types of lakes which can be classified based on different criteria – They are Fresh Water Lakes, Salt Water lakes, Natural Lakes, Artificial Lakes, oxbow lake, Crater Lake etc.

Note-

• Crater Lake- Formed due volcanic activity
• Oxbow Lake- Formed by river deposits

B) Lakes have various applications like drinking water, irrigation, navigation, water storage, livelihood (fishing, etc.), impact on microclimate, etc.

Important Facts

• Largest freshwater lake in India – Wular Lake, Jammu and Kashmir
• Largest Saline water lake in India – Chilka Lake, Orissa
• Highest lake in India (Altitude) – Cholamu lake, Sikkim
• Longest Lake in India – Vembanad lake, Kerala
• Largest Artificial Lake in India – Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar (Rihand Dam)

Lakes in India

S.No.	Name	State	District	Type of Lakes	Facts/Description
1	Pulicat Lake	Andhra Pradesh	Sullurpet	Brackish Water	It encompasses Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary; Satish Dhawan Space Centre located here
2	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	Vijayawada	Freshwater	Home to migratory birds
3	Nagarjuna Sagar	Andhra Pradesh	Nalgonda	Freshwater	Artificially constructed; Krishna river
4	Haflong Lake	Assam	Silchar	Freshwater	High altitude lake
5	DeeporBeel	Assam	Kamrup	Freshwater	Under Ramsar Convention
6	Son Beel	Assam	Karimganj	Freshwater (Tectonically formed)	Largest wetland in Assam
7	Chandubi lake	Assam	Kamrup	Freshwater	Migratory Birds (winter); formed by 1897 earthquake
8	Kanwar Lake	Bihar	Begusarai	Oxbow (freshwater)	Asia’s largest freshwater oxbow lake;
9	Hamirsar lake	Gujarat	Kutch	Artificial	Situated in centre of Bhuj
10	Kankaria lake	Gujarat	Ahmedabad	Artificial	During 14th century by Muhammed Shah II
11	Narayan Sarovar	Gujarat	Kutch	Artificial freshwater	Pilgrimage site for Hindus
12	Thol Lake	Gujarat	Mehsana	Lentic lake	Constructed for irrigation purpose
13	Vastrapur	Gujarat	Ahmedabad	Freshwater	Narmada River; Picnic spot
14	Badkal Lake	Haryana	Faridabad	Freshwater	Man made
15	Blue Bird Lake	Haryana	Hisar	Freshwater	Migratory Birds, Wetland Habitat
16	Brahma Sarovar	Haryana	Thaneswar	Freshwater	Ancient water pool sacred to Hinduism
17	Damdama Lake	Haryana	Sohna	Freshwater	Constructed by British government for Rainwater Harvesting
18	Karna	Haryana	Karnal	Freshwater	Connected to great epic Mahabharata
19	Tilyar	Haryana	Rohtak	Freshwater (canal inflow)	Located inside Tilyar Zoo
20	Chandra Taal	Himachal Pradesh	Lahul and Spiti	Sweetwater lake	Ramsar wetland site
21	Suraj Taal	Himachal Pradesh	Lahul and Spiti	Freshwater (High Altitude)	Bhaga River inflow
22	MaharanaPratapSagar	Himachal Pradesh	Kangra	Freshwater	Ramsar site
23	Prashar lake	Himachal Pradesh	Mandi	Holomitic (Freshwater)	It has a floating Island
24	Dal lake	J &K	Srinagar	Warm monomitic	Remnants of past glacial period
25	Pangong Tso	J &K	Ladakh	Endorheic Lake (saline water)	Indo-China Border
26	Wular lake	J &K	Bandipora	Tectonic lake (fresh water)	Largest freshwater lake in India
27	TsoMoriri	J &K	Ladakh	Saltwater	High altitude lake
28	Agata lake	Karnataka	Bangalore	Freshwater	Located in southwest part of the city
29	Bellandur Lake	Karnataka	Bangalore	Freshwater	-
30	Karachi lake	Karnataka	Mysore	-	Butterfly park
31	Ulsoor lake	Karnataka	Bangalore	Stale water	It has several islands
32	Kukarahalli lake	Karnataka	Mysore	Freshwater	Recreational
33	Honnamana	Karnataka	Kodagu	Freshwater	Holy lake, place for various festivals
34	Pampa Sarovar	Karnataka	Hampi	Freshwater	Tungabhadra river
35	Ashtamudi Kayal	Kerala	Kollam	Brackish water	Ramsar wetland site
36	Kuttanad	Kerala	Alappuzha, Kottayam	Backwater paddy cultivation
37	Vembanad	Kerala	-	Brackish water	Ramsar wetland; boat race
38	Shashtamkotta	Kerala	Kollam	Freshwater	Ramsar wetland
39	Bhojtal	Madhya. Pradesh	Bhopal	Freshwater	Ramsar site; largest artificial lake in India
40	Salim Ali	Maharashtra	Aurangabad	Freshwater	Birdwatching
41	Shivsagar	Maharashtra	Satara	Freshwater	Koyna dam
42	Lonar lake	Maharashtra	Buldhana	Crater lake	National Geo-Heritage monument
43	Loktak lake	Manipur	-	Lenticular freshwater	Ramsar wetland; Phumdis (Floating Islands); Multipurpose project
44	Umiam	Meghalaya	Shillong	Freshwater	Famous for cycling and boating
45	Tam Dil	Mizoram	Saitual	Freshwater	-
46	Chilika lake	Orissa	Puri	Brackish water	India's largest brackish water lake; lagoon
47	Kanjia lake	Orissa	Bhubaneswar	Freshwater	Wetland of national importance
48	Harike	Punjab	Ferozepur	Freshwater	Ramsar wetland site
49	Rupar	Punjab	Rupnagar	Freshwater	Manmade riverine lake
50	Kanjli	Punjab	Kapurthala	Freshwater	Ramsar wetland site
51	Sambhar lake	Rajasthan	Sambhar Lake-town	Saltwater	Ramsar wetland; largest inland saltwater lake in India
52	Rajsamand	Rajasthan	Rajsamand	Freshwater	-
53	Tsomgo lake	Sikkim	East Sikkim	Freshwater	Winter frozen
54	Khecheoplari	Sikkim	West Sikkim	Freshwater	Sacred lake for Hindus and Buddhists
55	Ooty lake	Tamilnadu	Nilgiris	Freshwater	Boat House
56	Chembarambakkam	Tamilnadu	Chennai	Artificial lake	-
57	Hussain Sagar	Telangana	Hyderabad	Artificial lake	Artificial Gibraltar rock island
58	Badrakali lake	Telegana	Warangal	Freshwater	Artificial lake
59	Govind Ballabh Pant Sagar	Uttar Pradesh	Sonbhadra	Man-made lake	Rihand dam
60	Belasagar	Uttar Pradesh	Kulpahar	Freshwater	Irrigation lake
61	Bhimtal	Uttarakhand	Nainital	Freshwater	Medium altitude lake
62	East Calcutta wetlands	West Bengal	Calcutta	Brackish water