Important Lakes in Jammu and Kashmir for UPSC and JKSSB Exams

Lakes of J&K is the easiest topic in JKSSB Syllabus. Read our premium Content and Score Full Marks in this Section

If you are preparing for JKSSB , JKPSC and UPSC Exams, then you will be familiar with this Topic ie “Lakes of Jammu and Kashmir. This is one of the most favorite topic for Paper setters and hardly there is hardly any JKSSB Exam where you won’t find the Question from this section. If you look at your JKSSB Syllabus, then this Lakes Topic is clubbed as “Rivers and Lakes of J&K under the sub-Topic of “Geography of Jammu and Kashmir. However, when we talk of JKPSC and UPSC Syllabus, question from this section is also expected, not everytime, but sometimes.

In this post, we will guide you about preparing for this section and scoring Full marks.

The Learning Time for this Topic varies person by person, but an average student will take no more than 5 to 6 hours to Learn, Memorize and Retain it. We will share the Content you need to prepare the topic, What you need to Prepare and How to Prepare. We assure that you will score full marks in the J&K Lakes topic, but for that you have to read this article till the end.

Lets Start ……….

There is no fun in learning a topic, unless or until you don’t know about the real motive of learning it.

Ask from yourself, whether you are reading it from Exam’s point of view or for General Information only. If you are reading for general information, then this page is not for you. This page is only for those who are reading this from Exam’s point of view. And for that Lets find What JKSSB asks about Lakes of Jammu and Kashmir

This topic is part of JKSSB Syllabus from the Last 12 years.

And this is what we found after analyzing the Last 12 years Previous Questions on Lakes of J&K.

1. Maximum Questions were asked on the “Origin of Lakes“
2. A Few Questions are asked on Superlatives Like “Largest, Deepest, Popular, Special etc”
3. Another set of Questions comprises on “Types of Lakes” ie Oxbow, Saltwater, Freshwater etc.
4. Most repeated Questions are asked from these Lakes, Wular Lake (9 Times), Dal Lake (7 Times) and Mansabal Lake (6 Times).
5. Very Rare Questions on Cultural Importance of Lakes like
   • Dal Lake which is famous for Houseboats and Mughal Structures
   • Gangabal lake : whose origin is Harmukh Ganga.
6. And Last But not the least, some Questions are asked about the Location of these lakes.

Now, you might be wondering Do we really analysed the Last 12 years JKSSB Question Papers and extrcated this data and you also want to go through these questions and you can check this Link where have share the JKSSB Previous Years Questions on Lakes in Jammu and Kashmir.

Till this point, you know, What JKSSB Asks, Now we are going to share the Exam Specific Premium Content that you need to Prepare to score Full marks in this particular topic.

If we look at previous papers, then we found that most questions are asked about the Origin (Type) and Location of the Lakes. In the below below, you can check this information about all of the Important Lakes of Jammu and Kashmir.

Lake Name	Origin Type	Location (District)
Dal Lake	Spring & Glacier-fed	Srinagar
Wular Lake	Tectonic (Largest Freshwater Lake)	Bandipora
Manasbal Lake	Tectonic (Deepest Lake)	Ganderbal
Gangbal Lake	Glacier-fed (Harmukh Ganga)	Ganderbal
Vishansar Lake	Glacier-fed	Ganderbal (near Sonamarg)
Krishansar Lake	Glacier-fed	Ganderbal (near Vishansar)
Tarsar Lake	Glacier-fed	Anantnag
Marsar Lake	Glacier-fed	Anantnag
Sheshnag Lake	Glacier-fed	Anantnag (Amarnath route)
Gadsar Lake	Glacier-fed (“Lake of Flowers”)	Ganderbal (near Vishansar)
Nundkol Lake	Glacier-fed	Ganderbal (near Gangbal)
Nilnag Lake	Spring-fed	Budgam
Kounsarnag Lake	Glacier-fed	Kulgam
Mansar Lake	Tectonic (Mythological significance)	Samba & Udhampur
Surinsar Lake	Tectonic	Jammu (near Mansar Lake)
Anchar Lake	Connected to Jhelum River	Srinagar
Ahansar Lake	Oxbow Lake	Bandipora
Sheikhsar Lake	Oxbow Lake	Pulwama
Rohil Lake	Glacier-fed	Poonch
Yemsar Lake	Glacier-fed	Poonch
Tso Moriri Lake	Tectonic (High-altitude lake)	Leh (Ladakh)
Pangong Lake	Endorheic (Saltwater)	Leh (Ladakh)
Tso Kar Lake	Saltwater (Wetland Reserve)	Leh (Ladakh)
Yarab Tso Lake	Spring-fed	Nubra Valley, Leh (Ladakh)

This section comprise of questions related to Facts and facts remained unchanged. Once, you remember these type of questions, it will serve your preparation lifetime.

There are numerous lakes in Kashmir Division. These lakes are divided into 2 categories ie Valley Lakes and High Altitude Lakes

• Its ancient name is Mahapadmasar
• It is the largest Freshwater Lake of India
• Tulbul Navigation project is built over it.
• Located in between Bandipora and Baramulla district of J&K
• Lake is formed as a result of Tectonic activity. Jhelum River flows through it.
• Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin has constructed an artificial island called “Zaina Lank” in the middle of lake in 1444.
• Some Scenic Points in Wular Lake are
  • Baba Shukur-ud-din at Watlab
  • Wular Vintage Paerk at Saderkot
• Other Streams that Empty in Wular Lake are
  • Erin
  • Arrah
  • Madhumati
  • Bandipora Nallah

• It is the second largest lake of J&K
• It is populary known as “Jewel in the Crown of Kashmir“, “Srinagar’s Jewel” , “Lake par Excellence“
• It is located in Srinagar, at the foothills of Zabarwan Mountains with Shankracharya in South and Hari Parbat in west.
• Dal Lake is divided into four basins
  • Gagribal
  • Lokut Dal
  • Bod Dal
  • Nigeen
• Its depth if biggest at Nageen Lake and shallow at Gagribal
• Lokut Dal has island known as Rup Lank (Char-Chinar)
• Bod Dal has island known as Sona Lank
• At the southern end of the Dal lake lies Dal Gate with which the lake water connects with Jhelum River through Tsont Canal
• Dal Lake is fed by Dachigam Tehbel Nallah
• Dal Lake also has floating gardens known as Rad
• Nehru Park is a near by popular tourist destination.

• Its name is derived from Mansarovar Lake.
• Located in District Ganderbal of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is the deepest lake of Indian and Jammu & Kashmir.
• Mansabal Lake is famous for its blooming Lotus flowers.
• Lake is popularly known as “Supreme Gem of All Kashmir Lakes”
• Noor-Jehan builts a Mughal Garden called as Jarokha Bagh near it.
• Wular Mansabal Development Authority was set up in 2007 for protection and restoration measures.

• Located in Srinagar, adjacent to Hari Parbat and west of Dal Lake.
• Nigeen Lake is popularly known as “Nageena” / “Jewel in the Ring“
• It is connected to Kushalsar and Gilsar Lakes via a channel known as Nallah Amir Khan.
• It is a part of Dal lake but lies separated from it. The only cnnection being a narrow channel bedecked with lotus flowers.

• Anchar Lake is located in Srinagar.
• Water in Anchar Lake is fed by Sindh Nallah.
• Anchar Lake is connected with Kushalsar lake by Amir Khan Nallah which in turn is connected with Nigeen Lake.
• It is now declared as a dead lake, because of its deteriorated condition and has become Marshland.

• This lake is located in Srinagar. It is connected to Dal by Channel and sometimes refereed as Lagoon (Shallow of Dal Lake)

• Nag in Local Kashmirii tounge is known as “Lake”.
• Neelnag is located in Yusmarg (Budgam).

• Ahansar Lake is located in Ganderbal District of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is believed to be a Oxbow lake formed by the alluvial deposits of Jehlum river.

• It is a small lake located in Srinagar.
• It is a source of water supply to Srinagar City.

• Gadsar Lake is famous for “Brown Trout Fish”
• Gadsar Lake is located in Dsitrict Ganderbal.
• It is also known as “Yesmar Lake” , also called “Lake of Fishes”
• Lake is fed by Melting of glaciers and remains frozen from “November to April”
• Gadsar Lake outflows through a stream and joins Neelum river at Tulail.
• This lake lies on famous “Kashmir Great Lakes” trekking route that connects many high altitudes of kashmir. It is also known as “Valley of flowers”

• It is a high altitude Oligotropic Lake located in district Ganderbal (Foothills of Harmukh Mountains)
• Gangabal lake is also known as “Harmukh Ganga”
• Gangabal lake is home to “Brown Trout” fish.
• Water from Gangabal lake outflows to a nearby Nundkol lake and thereafter water from Nundkol lake goes to Sind river via Wangat Nallah.

• It lies at the base of Kishansar Peak.
• Also known as “Neelum Lake” Or “Lake of Krishna”
• Kishansar Lake is located in Sonamarg (District Ganderbal)
• Together with Vishansar Lake, this Pristine water body forms a beautiful twin.
• The water from Kishansar lake drains through a small stream and falls into Vishansar lake and give rise to Neelum river / Kishanganga.

• Vishansar Lake is located in Ganderbal (Near Sonamarg)
• Also known as Lake of Vishnu
• It is home to “Brown Trout fish”
• It is fed by Krishansar Lake and also through glacial water.
• It is the source of Neelum River.

• It is a high altitude Oligotropic lake, located in Pir Panjal Range in district Kulgam
• The lake is a major source of Veshaw river
• The Trek to Kausarnag is via famous Aharbal Waterfall.

• These twin lakes are located in district Anantnag.
• It lies on the Northern Slopes of Harmukh Mountains.
• Marsar Lake is in the vicinity of Dachigam National Park. Marsar lake is the origin of Canal Sharab kohl that provides water to fountains of Mughal gardens
• Tarsar Lake is a almond shape lake which flows into lidder river, which is one of the largest tributaries of Jhelum.

• These lakes are located in District “Kupwara” of Jammu and Kashmir
• These lakes are said to be tear drops of Goddess Parvati. One a Warm Drop (Sokh) indicates happiness and other Cold (Dokh) showing grief.

• It is located in District Anantnag.
• It is also known as the Mirror Lake.
• It lies en-route to Shri Amarnath Cave.

• Tulian Lake is located in Pahalgam (Anantnag)
• It lies in Great Himalayan Range.

• It is located in District Udhampur of Jammu and Kashmir.
• It is a Ramsar Site also a popular picnic and holy site.
• There is a temple of Sheshnag , “Umapati Mahadev” , Narsihma and Temple of Durga
• A wildlife scantary is also located near it

• It is located in District Udhampur at a distance of 9km from Mansar Lake.
• It is a twin lake part of Mansar Lake. It is also a Ramsar Site.
• An island in the middle of this lake is home to thousands of bats.

• It is located near Patnitop (District Ramban)
• It got its name from 2 villages ie Sana and Sar
• Also known as Mini Gulmarg
• Shankpal Temple dedicated to Nag Devta lies near it.

• These Oval Shaped Seven Lakes “Satsars” located in Poonch-Shopian border of Pir Panjal in Poonch
• All these Seven lakes lies in “Girjin Valley”
• These include : Nandan Sar, Gum Sar, Kal Dachini, Sukh Sar, Neel Sar, Katori Sar, Sarota Sar.
• The water of these lakes flow through a channel “Jadi Marg Nallah” and flows down to Kashmir valley.

Thats, all for All the Major and Important Lakes in Jammu and Kashmir.

If you have any queries, do ask us in the Comments Section below.