Lonar is the huge meteor crater that is not only visually dramatic but also of ecological and scientific interest. The crater was formed fifty-two thousand years ago, when a meteor weighing 2 million tonnes crashed into the earth at an estimated speed of 90,000 kmph The lake, which lies in a basalt impact structure, is both saline and alkaline in nature. Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres. It is around 160 km from Aurangabad.