Loktak Lake

Where is Loktak Lake?

Countries on its shores: India.

Largest lake of: India.

Middle of the lake: 24.55° N, 93.78° E

The story behind it

Loktak Lake lies about 768 metres above the sea, near the town of Moirang. Its size changes a lot with the water level: it covers between about 250 and 500 km², usually about 287 km². The lake is shallow, only 4.6 metres at the deepest point. The Manipur River and many small streams bring water into it. Floating islands called phumdis drift on the lake. They are thick mats of plants, soil and old leaves, and the biggest one covers about 40 km². On it lies Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world. It is the home of the rare sangai, the Manipur brow-antlered deer. Some fishing families even live on the phumdis. A low dam, the Ithai Barrage, keeps the water level high so that the lake can supply a hydropower plant. With its large surface, Loktak counts as one of the largest natural lakes in all of India. By area, Loktak Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in India – bigger even than Wular Lake in Kashmir, which is often given that title.

Find it on the globe

Loktak Lake is there as a small blue dot with its name, right on the water. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.

It sits at its real coordinates, not near them — the same numbers listed in the facts above. Switch off the layer for this kind of place and it disappears again; the buttons for that are down the right-hand edge.