There are two types of lakes found in Rajasthan:
1. Saline water lakes
2. Fresh water lakes
1. Lakes of salt water: The distribution of this type of lakes is found in the western desert area and the inland drainage system areas. All these lakes are natural and shallow.
(a) Sambhar Lake: It is the largest salt water lake of India. It is situated in the districts of Jaipur, Ajmer and Nagaur. This lake, included in the district of Jaipur, covers an area of 145 square km. The length and breadth of this lake is 32 km and 12 km respectively. The Hindustan Salt Limited company produces salt from this lake. It is an enterprise of government of India.
(b) Didwana Lake: It is situated in the city of Didwana in Nagaur district. The length of this lake is 4 km.
(c) Pachpadra Lake: It lies in the town of Pachpadra in the district of Barmer. It covers an area of 25 square km.
(d) Lunkaransar Lake: It is situated in Lunkarasar town of Bikaner. Besides these, some other salt water lakes are Phalodi (Jodhpur), Kavod (Jaisalmer), Kuchaman (Nagaur), Tal Chhapar (Churu) etc.
2. Lakes of fresh water: The lakes of fresh water are used for obtaining drinking water and the facility of irrigation. The fresh water lakes in Rajasthan are Jaisamand (Udaipur), Rajsamand (Rajsamand), Pushkar (Ajmer), Siliserh (Alwar), Ramgarh (Jaipur), Kolayat (Bikaner), Nakki (Mount Abu), Kaylana (Jodhpur), Pichola, Ana Sagar etc.
The description of some important lakes is given below:
(a) Jaisamand Lake: This lake was built in 1685-1691 by constructing a dam on the river Gomati by Rana Jai Singh. It is situated in the district of Udaipur. The length and width of this lake is 15 km and 2.8 km respectively. It covers a total area of 55 square km. It is also known as Dhebar Lake. .
(b) Rajsamand Lake: It was built by Maharana Raj Singh in 1662. It is situated near the Kankroli railway station This lake is around 6.5 km long and 3 km wide.
(c) Pichola Lake: In the reign of Rana Lakha, it was built by a chieftain. It is situated in a village named Pichola in the western part of Udaipur. Its breadth is 7 km.
(d) Ana Sagar Lake: It is situated between two hills in Ajmer. It is an artificial and a beautiful lake. It was built by Annaji in 1137.
(e) Siliserh Lake: It is situated in the district of Alwar and covers an area of 10 square kiliometers.
(f) Kolayat Lake: It is situated at a distance of 48 km to the south-west of Bikaner. There was Kapil Muni’s Hermitage here.
(g) Pushkar Lake: It is situated at a distance of 11 km from Ajmer at a place named Pushkar. The most ancient temple of Brahmaji is situated here. Ghats have been formed around this lake.
