Sambhar Salt Lake
Encyclopedia
The Sambhar Salt Lake, India
's largest inland salt
lake
, sits 96 km south west of the city of Jaipur
(Northwest India) and 64 km north east of Ajmer
along National Highway 8 in Rajasthan
.
epic mentions this place as part of the kingdom of the demon king Brishparva
, as the place where his priest Sukracharya
lived, and as the place where the marriage between his daughter, Devayani
, and King Yayati
took place. A temple dedicated to Devayani
can be seen near the lake.
According to a Hindu
tradition, Shakambhari Devi
, the tutelary goddess of Chauhan Rajputs, converted the forest to a plain of precious metals. People worried about potential feuds for wealth and felt it to be a curse rather than a blessing. They requested her to retract her favor, so she converted the silver
to salt
. This place still has a temple dedicated to Shakambhari Devi.
wetland
, with water depths fluctuating from as few as 60 centimetres (23.6 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 hiils.
The Sambhar lake basin is divided by a 5.1 km long dam
made of sand stone
. 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 widges. 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.
Temperatures reach 40° Celsius in summer and stay at around 11° Celsius in winter.
and is mostly managed by Shambar Salts Ltd.(SSL), a joint venture of the Hindustan Salts Ltd. and the state government. SSL owns 3% of the eastern lake.
There are 38 clusters of villages surrounding the lake. Major settlements include Sambhar, Gudha, Jabdinagar, Nawa, Jhak, Korsina, Jhapok, Kanseda, Kuni, Tyoda, Govindi, Nandha, Sinodiya, Arwik ki dhani, Khanadja, Khakharki, Kerwa ki dhani, Rajas, Jalwali ki dhani, Devaji ki dhani, Aau and Ulana.
is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of flamingo
s and other birds that migrate from northern Asia. The specialized algae
and bacteria
growing in the lake provide striking water colours and support the lake ecology that, in turn, sustains the migrating waterfowl
.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's largest inland salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, sits 96 km south west of the city of Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....
(Northwest India) and 64 km north east of Ajmer
Ajmer
Ajmer , formerly written as Ajmere, is a city in Ajmer District in Rajasthan state in India. Ajmer has a population of around 800,000 , and is located west of the Rajasthan state capital Jaipur, 200 km from Jodhpur, 274 km from Udaipur, 439 km from Jaisalmer, and 391 km from...
along National Highway 8 in Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
.
Mythology
The MahabharataMahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
epic mentions this place as part of the kingdom of the demon king Brishparva
Vrishparva
In Hindu mythology, Vrishparva was a Danava king. He fought many wars with Indra with the help of his main priest Shukracharya. He made many attempts to kill Kacha, the son of Brihaspati...
, as the place where his priest Sukracharya
Shukra
Shukra , the Sanskrit for "clear, pure" or "brightness, clearness", is the name of the son of Bhrigu, and preceptor of the Daityas, and the guru of the Asuras, identified with the planet Venus, one of the Navagrahas...
lived, and as the place where the marriage between his daughter, Devayani
Devyani
In Hindu mythology, Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya and his wife Jayanti, daughter of Indra. In her early life, she was rejected by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati...
, and King Yayati
Yayati
Yayati was a Puranic king and the son of king Nahusha and one of ancestors of Pandavas. He was a great scholar of Vedas. He had five brothers, Yati, Samyati, Ayati, Viyati and Kriti. He had two wives, Devayani and Sharmishtha. Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya, the priest of Asuras ....
took place. A temple dedicated to Devayani
Devyani
In Hindu mythology, Devayani was the daughter of Shukracharya and his wife Jayanti, daughter of Indra. In her early life, she was rejected by Kacha, the son of Brihaspati...
can be seen near the lake.
According to a Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
tradition, Shakambhari Devi
Shakambhari
In Hinduism, Shakambhari is an incarnation of Ishwari, consort to Shiva. She is the divine mother, called "The Bearer of the Greens."- Etymology :...
, the tutelary goddess of Chauhan Rajputs, converted the forest to a plain of precious metals. People worried about potential feuds for wealth and felt it to be a curse rather than a blessing. They requested her to retract her favor, so she converted the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
to salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
. This place still has a temple dedicated to Shakambhari Devi.
Geography
The lake is actually an extensive salineSalinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, with water depths fluctuating from as few as 60 centimetres (23.6 in) during the dry season to about 3 meters (10 ft) after the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
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
Nagaur
Nagaur is a city in the state of Rajasthan in India. It is the administrative headquarters of Nagaur District. The Nagaur city lies about midway between Jodhpur and Bikaner. It was founded by the Naga Kshatriyas.- History :...
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 hiils.
The Sambhar lake basin is divided by a 5.1 km long dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
made of sand stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
. 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
Evaporation
Evaporation is a type of vaporization of a liquid that occurs only on the surface of a liquid. The other type of vaporization is boiling, which, instead, occurs on the entire mass of the liquid....
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 widges. To the east of the dam is a railroad, built by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
(before India’s independence) to provide access from Sambhar Lake City
Sambhar, Rajasthan
Sambhar is a city and a municipality in Jaipur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.-Geography:Its importance is primarily because of it is situated along the Sambhar Lake, the largest saline lake in India....
to the salt works.
The nearest airport is Sanganer
Jaipur Airport
Jaipur International Airport is in the southern suburb of Sanganer, from Jaipur, the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan.Jaipur airport is the only international airport in the state of Rajasthan. It was granted the status of international airport on 29 December 2005...
and the nearest railway station is Sambhar
Sambhar, Rajasthan
Sambhar is a city and a municipality in Jaipur district in the Indian state of Rajasthan.-Geography:Its importance is primarily because of it is situated along the Sambhar Lake, the largest saline lake in India....
. 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.
Temperatures reach 40° Celsius in summer and stay at around 11° Celsius in winter.
Economic importance
It is India's largest saline lake and made Rajasthan the third largest salt producing state in India. It produces 196,000 tonnes of clean salt every year, which equals 8.7% of India's salt production. Salt is produced by evaporation process of brineBrine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
and is mostly managed by Shambar Salts Ltd.(SSL), a joint venture of the Hindustan Salts Ltd. and the state government. SSL owns 3% of the eastern lake.
There are 38 clusters of villages surrounding the lake. Major settlements include Sambhar, Gudha, Jabdinagar, Nawa, Jhak, Korsina, Jhapok, Kanseda, Kuni, Tyoda, Govindi, Nandha, Sinodiya, Arwik ki dhani, Khanadja, Khakharki, Kerwa ki dhani, Rajas, Jalwali ki dhani, Devaji ki dhani, Aau and Ulana.
Ecological importance
Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar site (recognized wetland of international importance) because the wetlandWetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
s and other birds that migrate from northern Asia. The specialized algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
and bacteria
Bacteria
Bacteria are a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
growing in the lake provide striking water colours and support the lake ecology that, in turn, sustains the migrating waterfowl
Waterfowl
Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....
.
Local Fairs
- Nandiya Ji ka Mela (Fair of Nandiya Ji)
- Teeej-Gangaur Ka Mela
- Dushera Ka Mela
- Devyani Ji Ka Mela
- Shakambhri Mata Ka Mela
- Teja Ji Ka Mela