Life at Lonar Crater

Princeton University graduate student Nick Swanson-Hysell was part of a team that studied Lonar Crater, a mile-wide, 790-foot-deep crater in India. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)

WHOI volcanologist Adam Soule collects rocks at a quarry located about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Lonar Crater. (Photo by Anand Mishtra)

Nick Swanson-Hysell climbs into a large well located near Lonar Crater to collect rock samples. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)

Brickmakers use red oxidized clay found in some areas of Lonar Crater to create building materials. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)

Foreign visitors were rare near Lonar Crater. "Often a whole bunch of people would show up and want to talk," said Adam Soule (white cap). He said some spoke English. But on this day, Soule communicated through song; he sang the show tune "Oklahoma!" His new friends responded by singing songs popular in India. (Photo by Nick Swanson-Hysell, Princeton University)

Local women were among the goatherders, field workers, and farmers who stopped to watch scientists work at Lonar Crater. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)

In the 12th and 13th centuries, people built stone temples around the rim and inside the base of Lonar Crater. "We saw a lot of young couples there praying to the fertility gods," Adam Soule said. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)

A market in the village of Lonar sold grains, fruits, vegetables, and unusual-looking sweets, such as these. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI)