Stratigraphic and Radiocarbon Evidence for the Age and Development of Three Salt Lake Deposits in Rajasthan, India

Abstract

A series of radiocarbon determinations have been carried out of lacustrine deposits contained in three playa basins, namely at Sambhar, Didwana and Lunkaransar, in Rajasthan, in conjunction with stratigraphical and palynological investigations. It is revealed that the lake deposits, which overlie thick beds of sand at each site, date back from early Holocene times (ca. 10,000 B.P.). The authors present the radiocarbon evidence together with an outline of the stratigraphy of the deposits, and attempt to reconstruct the sedimentary sequence in the three basins since the beginning of the lacustrine phase. The significance of the more or less synchronous development in all the three playa basins is discussed with reference to postglacial climatic oscillations in northwest India.