The Floating Islands of Loktak
On a lake in Manipur, islands of grass and soil float and drift, and one of them carries the world's only floating national park.
What was reported
Loktak Lake in Manipur, the largest freshwater lake in north-east India, is covered with phumdis: floating masses of vegetation, soil and organic matter, some large enough to walk on and to hold fishing huts. They drift with the wind and water levels.
At the southern end lies Keibul Lamjao National Park, the only floating national park in the world, home to the endangered sangai, a dancing deer found nowhere else.
Explanations offered
The phumdis form over years as plants grow and decay, binding together into thick, buoyant mats. Their thickness changes with the seasons, sinking partly in the dry season and rising in the monsoon. They are threatened today by a dam that keeps water levels high.
- When
- Ancient
- Where
- Loktak Lake, Manipur, India
- Witnesses
- Fishing communities and visitors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.