{"id":122895,"date":"2026-09-05T12:09:07","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=122895"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:09:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T06:39:07","slug":"thol-lake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/thol-lake\/","title":{"rendered":"Thol Lake, Location, Sanctuary, Ramsar Site, Biodiversity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Thol Lake <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a freshwater artificial wetland near Thol village in Kadi taluka of Mehsana district, Gujarat. It was constructed in 1912 during the Gaekwad regime as an irrigation tank for farmers. The lake covers a water spread of 699 hectares and has a storage capacity of 84 million cubic metres. It was declared a bird sanctuary in 1988 subsequently a Ramsar Site in 2021. Thol Lake is also an important wetland on the Central Asian Flyway.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Thol Lake<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Thol Lake <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">combines irrigation history, wetland ecology and bird conservation in the semi arid landscape of North Gujarat.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Location: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake lies near Thol village, about 40 km northwest of Ahmedabad.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Origin: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lake was built in 1912 by the Gaekwad regime to provide irrigation water to farmers. This also established user rights over the lake water.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Physical Features: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lake is shallow and has a 5.62 km shoreline. Its water spread covers 699 hectares, while its storage capacity is 84 million cubic metres.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Catchment: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake drains a catchment area of 15,500 hectares. Its command area is about 1,450 hectares, supporting the original irrigation purpose of the reservoir.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Climate: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The region has winter, summer and monsoon seasons. Annual rainfall averages 600 mm, while recorded temperatures range from 8\u00b0C to 43\u00b0C.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Management: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Forest and Irrigation departments of the Government of Gujarat jointly operate and manage Thol Lake and its water resources.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Protection Status: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake was notified as a bird sanctuary in November 1988 under Section 18 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wildlife-protection-act\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972<\/strong><\/a>. It has also been proposed as an Eco Sensitive Zone under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Ramsar Recognition: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In August 2021, Thol and Wadhwana in Gujarat were recognised as <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/ramsar-sites-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Ramsar Sites<\/strong><\/a> along with Sultanpur and Bhindawas in Haryana.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Thol Lake Biodiversity<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake supports diverse aquatic, marshland and dry region vegetation along with resident and <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/migratory-bird-species\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>migratory bird<\/strong><\/a> populations.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Bird Diversity: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greater flamingo, Sarus crane, great white pelican, mallard, geese and several waders are prominent species. Thousands of flamingos have been recorded at the wetland.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Threatened Species: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vulnerable species include Dalmatian pelican, greater spotted eagle, Sarus crane and Indian skimmer. White rumped vulture and Indian vulture are critically endangered.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Other Fauna: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The surrounding landscape supports bluebull, golden jackal and blackbuck, adding terrestrial diversity to the wetland ecosystem.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vegetation: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Peripheral and wetland vegetation includes Acacia nilotica, A. leucoploea, Zizyphus, Azadirachta indica, Ficus, Salvadora, Prosopis chilensis and Capparis species.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Habitat: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Open water is the dominant habitat, with cropland, fallow land, scrubland and marshy vegetation occurring around the lake.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Thol Lake Significance<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake is important for irrigation, wetland conservation, migratory birds and ecological protection in Gujarat&#8217;s semi arid landscape.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Irrigation Value: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake was originally created to provide irrigation facilities to farmers. Its command area of about 1,450 hectares reflects its agricultural importance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Migratory Route: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The wetland lies on the Central Asian Flyway. It provides feeding, nesting and wintering habitat for numerous migratory waterbirds.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Conservation Value: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sanctuary protects important bird populations, including Sarus cranes, flamingos and threatened species. Its Ramsar status strengthens its importance as a wetland of international significance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Environmental Role: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lake&#8217;s open water, marshes, scrubland and surrounding agricultural areas create varied habitats. These habitats support both aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Regional Importance: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Thol Lake is one of the important wetland ecosystems of North Gujarat. Its conservation links water management, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/agriculture-in-india\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>agriculture<\/strong><\/a>, biodiversity protection and sustainable wetland use.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thol Lake is a Ramsar wetland and bird sanctuary in Gujarat, known for migratory birds, irrigation history, biodiversity and its vital role on the Central Asian Flyway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":122683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[786],"tags":[10029],"class_list":["post-122895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-general-studies","tag-thol-lake","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122895"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122895\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122968,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122895\/revisions\/122968"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}