Answer:
India has many lakes. They differ in size
and other characteristics. Most lakes are permanent, whereas some contain water
only during the rainy season. There are lakes which are formed by the action of
glaciers and ice sheets, while the others have been formed by human activities.
(i)
Salt water lakes: Spit and bars form lagoons or salt water lakes in the coastal
areas like the Chilika lake, Pulicat lake and the Kolleru lake. Sometimes salt
water lakes are formed with island drainage like Sambhar lake in Rajasthan. Its
water is used for producing salt.
(ii)
Freshwater lakes: Most of these are in the Himalayan region. They are of glacier
origin. They are formed when glaciers dug out a basin, which was later filled
with snow melt. The Wular lake in Jammu and Kashmir is the largest freshwater
lake in India. Other freshwater lakes are the Dal, Bhimtal, Nainital, Loktak
and Barapani.
(iii)
Man-made lakes: The damming of the rivers for the generation of hydel power
has also led to the formation of lakes. These lakes are formed to drain excessive
water of the river during floods and adding water to the rivers during the dry
season. Such lakes are the Guru Gobind Sagar (Bhakra Nangal Project), Nizam
Sagar, Nagarjuna Sagar, Rana Pratap Sagar, etc.
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