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'''Chorabari Lake''', also known as '''Gandhi Sarovar''', was a glacial lake at the [[Glacier terminus|snout]] of the [[Chorabari Glacier]] at an altitude of {{cvt|3900|m|ft|-2}}. It was about {{cvt|2|km|mi|1}} upstream from the town of [[Kedarnath]] in the Indian state of [[Uttarakhand]], part of the [[Mandakini River]] system. On 17 June 2013, the [[moraine]] holding back the waters of the lake gave way and vast quantities of water cascaded down the valley below, causing a catastrophic flash flood.<ref name=Negi>{{cite journal |author=Negi, P.S. |year=2014 |title=Pre-eminence of extreme precipitation event over deforestation: A primary cause of Himalayan disaster of June 2013 |journal=International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction |volume=10 |pages=392–398 |doi=10.1016/j.ijdrr.2014.09.0132212-4209/&2014 }}</ref> The lake did not reform after the event because much of the moraine had been washed away, leaving a boulder-strewn flat area with a small stream flowing through it.<br />
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==Description==<br />
The Chorabari Glacier is in a [[cirque]] some {{cvt|6|km|mi|1}} wide, and the meltwater flows down a narrow steep-sided valley. The instability of the alpine soils and deforestation of the valley sides caused large quantities of glacial debris and sediment to accumulate and form a moraine at the foot of the glacier.<ref name=Negi/> Like many others, the Chorabari Glacier has been shrinking during the 21st century, and by 2013 the snout of the glacier had retreated several hundred metres from the moraine. Below the glacier, water had been accumulating, dammed back by the moraine, and formed a lake some {{cvt|250|m|ft|0}} long and {{cvt|150|m|ft|0}} wide. Its depth was {{cvt|15|to|20|m|ft|0}}, depending on the time of year.<ref name=Joshi>{{cite web |url=https://www.thethirdpole.net/2017/10/16/death-of-chorabari-lake/ |title=Death of Chorabari lake |author=Joshi, Hridayesh |date=16 October 2017 |publisher=thethirdpole.net |access-date=18 November 2020 }}</ref> The water in the lake mostly accumulated from rainfall and melting snow in its catchment area. A monitoring camp set up beside the glacier by the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Ecology was monitoring water levels in the lake; most years, the water depth increased by between {{cvt|2|and|4|m|ft|0}}<ref name=Joshi/> at the start of the monsoon.<br />
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==Gandhi Sarovar==<br />
Chorabari Lake was renamed Gandhi Sarovar after some of [[Mahatma Gandhi]]'s [[cremation|ashes]] were scattered in the lake. This caused many [[religious pilgrimage|pilgrims]] visiting the temple at Kedarnath to undertake the trek to the lake.<ref name=Gusain/><br />
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==June 2013==<br />
The monsoon rainfall was very heavy in Uttarakhand in June 2013. In the upper Chorabari catchment, incessant rainfall and rapid melting of snow caused the water level in the lake to rise by {{cvt|7|m|ft|0}}. On the morning of 17 June, an [[avalanche]] swept into the lake, putting immense pressure on the dam, which then burst. Water cascaded into the valley below, taking with it enormous boulders and great quantities of debris. The whole lake emptied in five to ten minutes. The volume of water that escaped was estimated to be 262,000,000 L (212.4 acre-feet),<ref name=Joshi/> and the peak discharge rate was estimated to be about {{cvt|1700|m3|ft3}} per second.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Rafiq, Mohammd; Romshoo, Shakil Ahmad; Mishra, Anoop Kumar; Jalal, Faizan |year=2019 |title=Modelling Chorabari Lake outburst flood, Kedarnath, India |journal=Journal of Mountain Science |volume=16 |pages=64–76 |doi=10.1007/s11629-018-4972-8 }}</ref> The lake did not reform after the event, as much of the moraine had been washed away.<ref name=Joshi/> What remains of Chorabari Lake is a boulder-strewn flat area with a small rivulet flowing through it.<ref name=Gusain>{{cite news |title=Kedarnath lake, where Gandhi's ashes were immersed, wiped out |author=Gusain, Raju |url=http://www.catchnews.com/environment-news/kedarnath-lake-where-gandhi-s-ashes-were-immersed-wiped-out-1443706001.html |newspaper=Catchnews |date=13 February 2017 |access-date=19 November 2020}}</ref><br />
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==See also==<br />
*[[2013 North India floods]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{coord|30|44|51|N|79|03|39|E|display=title}}<br />
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[[Category:Landforms of Uttarakhand]]</div>>Quisqualis