Test: Geography- 1 - UPSC MCQ

 The Earth is made up of several concentric layers with one inside another. The uppermost layer over the Earth's surface is called the crust. It is the thinnest of all the layers. It is about 35 km on the continental masses and only 5 km on the ocean floors. The Earth's crust is made up of various types of rocks. Any natural mass of mineral matter that makes up the Earth's crust is called a rock. Rocks can be of different colour, sizes and textures. There are three major types of rocks: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. When the molten magma cools, it becomes solid. Rocks thus formed are called igneous rocks. They are also called primary rocks. The most abundant rocks in the crust are igneous rocks. So, Statement 1 is correct.

The continental crust is less dense than all the layers of the Earth's interior. Its density is 2.7g/cm³, whereas the density of the oceanic crust is 3.0 g/cm³, and that of the Earth's mantle is 3.3 g/cm³. The main mineral composition of continental crust is Silica and Aluminium. This layer is also commonly known as the Sial layer. The oceanic crust is made of denser rock made of basalt and is dominated by Silica (Si) and Magnesium (SIMA). When an oceanic crust converges with a continental crust, it always subducts below the continental crust as the oceanic crust is more dense and heavy, and it melts and gets subsumed into the mantle after subduction. So, Statement 2 is not correct.

The thickness of oceanic crust ranges between 5 and 7 kilometers which are substantially shallower than continental crust. The continental crust covers an average distance of 35-40 km; in some places, it extends upto 70 km. So, Statement 3 is correct.

The 'Goldilocks Zone,' or habitable zone, is the distance range with the right temperatures for water to remain liquid. The distance Earth orbits the Sun is just right for water to remain a liquid. This distance from the Sun is called the habitable or Goldilocks zone. So, Statement 1 is correct.

Venus and Mars are also considered to be a part of the goldilocks zones in our Solar system along with Earth, but they aren't currently habitable. Today, Mars is a frigid desert. Many dried-up riverbeds, deltas, lake basins, and inland seas make it clear that Mars once had much water on its surface. Research suggests that most of Mars’s water escaped into space as its atmosphere was stripped away by the sun’s radiation. Today, aside from a possible series of briny, underground lakes and aquifers, most of Mars’s water is locked up in the polar caps or ice buried below the surface. Venus may have had a shallow liquid-water ocean and habitable surface temperatures for up to 2 billion years of its early history, according to computer modeling of the planet’s ancient climate by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. Venus is closer to the sun than Earth and receives far more sunlight. As a result, the planet’s early ocean evaporated, water-vapor molecules were broken apart by ultraviolet radiation, and hydrogen escaped to space. With no water left on the surface, carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere, leading to a so- called runaway greenhouse effect that created present conditions. So, Statement 2 is correct. 

The following biodiversity heritage sites, which are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems, are located in Karnataka, - Nallur Tamarind Grove - It is popularly believed to be a relic of the Chola Dynasty that ruled nearly 800 years ago. - Hogrekan - The area has unique Shola vegetation and grassland. Its dry deciduous vegetation is linked with Bababudanagiri and Kemmangundi, adjoining Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Yemmedode Tiger Reserve and serving as a "Wildlife Corridor" between Kudremukha and Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. - University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK Campus, Bengaluru – It is considered one of the greenest areas in Bengaluru. - Ambaraguda is a revenue land between Sharavathi Wild Life Sanctuary and Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary. It has Shola vegetation which is primitive vegetation in the Western Ghats and grasslands. - Antaragange Betta in Kolar is a unique and perennial water source flowing throughout the year. - Aadi Narayana Swamy Betta in Chickballapur - had many dry-belt species protected by locals. - Mahima Ranga Betta in Nelamangala, Bengaluru – It is a prominent lung space surviving in Bengaluru. - The Urumbi area on the Kumaradhara river basin in Dakshina Kannada has a fragile environmental system and is located on the banks of the river Kumaradhara. So, Option (b) is correct.

• Soil erosion is essentially aggravated by faulty practices. Lands with a slope gradient of 15–25 percent should not be used for cultivation. If at all the land is to be used for agriculture, terraces should carefully be made.
• Efforts should be made to prevent gully erosion and control their formation. Finger gullies can be eliminated by terracing. In bigger gullies, the erosive velocity of water may be reduced by constructing a series of check dams. Special attention should be paid to control headward extension of gullies. This can be done by gully plugging, terracing, or by planting cover vegetation
  • Terracing is a soil conservation practice applied to prevent rainfall runoff on sloping land from accumulating and causing serious erosion. Terraces consist of ridges and channels constructed across- the-slope.
• In arid and semi-arid areas, efforts should be made to protect cultivable lands from encroachment by sand dunes through the development of shelter belts of trees and agroforestry. Lands not suitable for cultivation should be converted into pastures for grazing. •
• Hence option (a) is the correct answer.

• Tropical Evergreen forests are found in the western slope of the Western Ghats, hills of the northeastern region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• They are found in warm and humid areas with an annual precipitation of over 200 cm and mean annual temperature above 22 degree C.
• The Western Ghats in India provide favorable conditions for orographic rainfall. The warm and moist air from the Arabian sea is blocked by the Western Ghats and gets lifted over mountain ranges. As the air rises and cools, orographic clouds are formed resulting in precipitation.
  • Due to orographic rainfall, the western side of the western ghats receives heavy rainfall, more than 250cm rainfall per year. and aids in growth of Tropical evergreen forests in India.
• These forests can be extremely dense and multi-layered, with a few areas being so dense that the forest floor hardly receives any sunlight due to the engulfing leaves and large trees.
• The main vegetation found in these forests is Ebony, Mahogany, and Rosewood.
• The tropical evergreen forests are known as lungs of the Earth because of huge greenery and the amount of oxygen they produce. The plants usually draw carbon dioxide and produce oxygen, hence are called as the lungs of the Earth.
• Hence, option (a) is the correct answer. 

• Many local winds, some hot, others cold are common around the Mediterranean Sea. The causes are many and varied. The topography of the region with the high Alps in the north, the Sahara desert in the south, continental interiors in the east and the open Atlantic on the west give rise to great differences in temperature, pressure and precipitation.
• The passing cyclones from the Atlantic, the anticyclones from the north, and the cold air masses from the continental interiors are often interrupted or channelled by relief features, resulting in the birth of local winds around the Mediterranean. These winds varying in strength, direction and duration affect the lives, crops and activities of the people there.
• Sirocco.
  • This is a hot dry dusty wind which originates in the Sahara Desert . Though it may occur at any time of the year, it is most frequent in spring and normally lasts for only a few days. The Sirocco blows outwards in a southerly direction from the desert interiors into the cooler Mediterranean Sea. It is usually associated with depressions from the Atlantic passing from the coast eastwards inland.
• Mistral.
  • Mistral is a cold wind from the north of Mediterranean sea , rushing down the Rhone valley in violent gusts between 40 and 80 miles per hour. The velocity of the Mistral is intensified by the funnelling effect in the valley between the Alps and the Central Massif, and in extreme cases trains may be derailed and trees uprooted.
• A similar type of cold north-easterly wind experienced along the Adriatic coast is called the Bora. Like the Mistral, it is caused by a difference in pressure between continental Europe and the Mediterranean. This usually occurs in winter, when the atmospheric pressure over continental Europe is higher than that of the Mediterranean Sea.
• In West Africa, the North- East Trades blow offshore from the Sahara Desert and reach the Guinea coast as a dry, dust -laden wind, called locally the Harmattan meaning The doctor’.
  • It is so dry that its relative humidity seldom exceeds 30 per cent. The doctor’ provides a welcome relief from the damp air of the Guinea lands by increasing the rate of evaporation with resultant cooling effects, but it is such a dry dusty wind that , besides ruining the crops, it also stirs up a thick dusty haze and impedes inland river navigation.
• Hence option (b) is the correct answer. 

• Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern plains and the river valleys. These soils cover about 40 percent of the total area of the country. They are depositional soils, transported and deposited by rivers and streams. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• The alluvial soils vary in nature from sandy loam to clay. They are generally rich in potash but poor in phosphorous. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• In the Upper and Middle Ganga plain, two different types of alluvial soils have developed, viz. Khadar and Bhangar. Khadar is the new alluvium and is deposited by floods annually, which enriches the soil by depositing fine silts.
• Bhangar represents a system of older alluvium, deposited away from the flood plains. Both the Khadar and Bhangar soils contain calcareous concretions (Kankars). These soils are more loamy and clayey in the lower and middle Ganga plain and the Brahmaputra valley.

• For the first time ever, the Ministry of Culture has announced a year-long commemoration of the birth anniversary of Banjara Dharmaguru Santh Sevalal Maharaj.
  • Born in 1739 in Shivamogga district of Karnataka.
  • He was a social reformer and spiritual teacher of Banjara Community. Hence option (c) is the correct answer.
• Spread across India, Banjara Community is a nomadic community with nearly 10-12 crore population. They are classified as SC, ST and OBC in different states.
• Having sound knowledge in Ayurveda and Naturopathy, he eradicated myths and superstitions prevalent among forest dwellers and nomadic tribe. 

• The island is located in the Southern Indian Ocean, close to Indonesia and strategic maritime choke points. Hence, Statement a is correct.
• The CKI is an Australian external territory located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 3,000 km north-west of Perth in western Australia.
• Statement b is correct: The island comprises two coral atolls made up of 27 smaller islands Significance for India
• Cocos can be an important base for refuelling and Operational Turnaround for the Indian military, especially once the runway there is expanded to accommodate large aircraft like the P-8 long range maritime patrol aircraft.
• Cocos Islands had been a point of cooperation between the space agencies of the two countries for India’s Gaganyaan human space flight mission.
• Australia’s active support in establishing a temporary ground station at CKI for the Gaganyaan missions offers potential opportunities for cooperation in earth observation, satellite navigation, space situational awareness, weather and climate studies using satellite data 

Niger is rich in Uranium deposits, in the Aïr Massif area or Aïr Mountains (triangular massif located in northern Niger within the Sahara), producing 07 % of global supplies and has been exporting a quarter of it to France. Niger supplies 25.4 % of Uranium to the EU countries.

With the increase in development, the demand for minor minerals such as Sand and gravel has crossed 60 million metric tons in India. This also makes it the second largest extractive industry on the planet, after water. So, Statement 1 is correct.

The regulatory and administrative jurisdiction of minor minerals falls exclusively under the purview of state governments, unlike those of major minerals. These include the powers to frame rules, prescribe rates of royalty, contribution to the District Mineral Foundation, the procedure for grant of mineral concessions etc., So, Statement 2 is not correct.

The list of 31 minerals to be notified as minor minerals include Agate, Ball Clay, Barytes, Calcareous Sand, Calcite, Chalk, China Clay, Clay (Others), Corundum, Diaspore, Dolomite, Dunite/pyroxenite, Felsite, Felspar, Fireclay, Fuschite Quartzite, Gypsum, Jasper, Kaolin, Laterite, Limekankar, Mica, Ochre, Pyrophyllite, Quartz, Quartzite, Sand (Others), Shale, Silica Sand, Slate, and Steatite/Talc/Soapstone. In addition to the minor minerals specified in Section 3(e) of the MMDR Act, the Central Government has declared the following minerals as minor minerals: - Boulder, - shingle, - chalcedony pebbles used for ball mill purposes only, - lime shell, kankar and limestone used in kilns for the manufacture of lime used as a building material, - murrum, - brick-earth, - fuller's earth, - bentonite, - road metal, - reh-Matti, - slate and shale when used for building materials, - marble, - the stone used for making household utensils, - quartzite and sandstone when used for purposes of building or for making road metal and household utensils, - saltpeter and - Ordinary earth (used for filling or leveling purposes in construction or embankments, roads, railways, and buildings). So, Statement 3 is correct.

Panchet dam is built across the Damodar River in Dhanbad District’s Panchet area in Jharkhand. Inaugurated in 1959, Panchet dam is the fourth of the 4 multi-purpose dams that fall under the first phase of Damodar Valley Corporation. The Panchet dam was commissioned as a multipurpose river valley project under the authority of Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) across the river Damodar at the border of West Bengal and Jharkhand states of India in 1959. So, Pair 1 is correct.

World’s largest masonry dam protected with 26 gates measuring 124.663m in height, Nagarjunasagar Dam is located in the Nalgonda District of Telangana. It is built across the river Krishna and not the river Tungabhadra. The dam has a storage capacity of nearly 11,472 million cubic meters with an irrigation capacity for 9.81 lac acres of land. The dam measures150m tall and 16 km in length while also being a major tourist attraction. In fact, it is among the first irrigation projects started by the Indian Government as an element of the Green Revolution. So, Pair 2 is not correct.

Reaching a staggering height of 260 meters, the imposing Tehri Dam is one of the tallest dams in the world and the tallest dam in India, built on the Bhagirati river, which merges with the Alaknanda river to form River Ganga at Devprayag. An engineering marvel in itself, Tehri Dam not only provides more than 1,000 MW of hydroelectricity but also is a popular tourist attraction in Uttarakhand. The dam reservoir, also known as Tehri Lake, is usually flocked with tourists interested in boating and is slowly becoming a prominent hub for adventure tourism in Uttarakhand. So, Pair 3 is correct.

Hirakud Dam is one of the longest dams in the world, located at a distance of 15km from the main city of Sambalpur in Odisha. It is the world’s longest earthen Dam, about 16 miles and around 26 km in length. Built on the River Mahanadi (not Tapi river) at the cost of Rs.1000 million, the Hirakud Dam project is one of its kind in the entire country. After India’s independence, it is said to be one of the first major multi-use river valley projects. From horizon to horizon, the reservoir forms the largest artificial lake in Asia, with an area of 746 sq.Kms. and shoreline over 640 kms. A 21 Kilometres drive on the dyke offers a unique experience of calm serenity and majesty of nature. So, Pair 4 is not correct. 

The Ravi is an important tributary of the Indus river. It rises west of the Rohtang pass in the Kullu hills of Himachal Pradesh and flows through the Chamba valley of the state. Before entering Pakistan and joining the Chenab near Sarai Sindhu, it drains the area lying between the southeastern part of the Pir Panjal and the Dhauladhar ranges. So, Option (a) is not correct.

Mahananda is a typical river system consisting of two different streams; one arising from the mountainous region of the Himalayas in Nepal traverses through the Indian state of Bihar and outfalls in the Ganga on the left opposite Rajmahal in Bihar and is locally named as river Fulahar. The other stream, also named Mahananda, rises downhill in Darjeeling in West Bengal and traverses a distance of about 400 kms. So, Option (b) is correct.

The Ramganga river is a comparatively small river rising in the Garhwal hills near Gairsain in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. It changes its course to the southwest direction after crossing the Shiwalik and enters into the plains of Uttar Pradesh near Najibabad. Finally, it joins the Ganga near Kannauj. So, Option (c) is correct.

The Chambal river rises near Mhow in the Malwa plateau of Madhya Pradesh and flows northward through a gorge upwards of Kota in Rajasthan, where the Gandhisagar dam has been constructed. From Kota, it traverses to Bundi, Sawai Madhopur and Dholpur and finally joins the Yamuna. The Chambal is famous for its badland topography called the Chambal ravines. So, Option (d) is correct.

According to the International Astronomical Union in 2006, a planet must do three things to be defined as a planet.

• It must orbit a star (in our cosmic neighborhood, the Sun). So, Statement 1 is correct.
• It must be big enough to have enough gravity to force it into a spherical shape. So, Statement 2 is correct.
• It must be big enough that its gravity cleared away any other objects of similar size near its orbit around the Sun. So, Statement 3 is correct.
• Every planet, including the earth, drifts away from its parent star so it is not mandatory that a planet should not move away from the star. So, Option (c) is correct. 

The eccentricity of the Earth changes over time due to the gravitational fields of neighboring planets – Jupiter and Saturn. Over time, the pull of gravity from our solar system's two largest gas giant planets, Jupiter and Saturn, causes the shape of Earth's orbit to vary from nearly circular to slightly elliptical. So, Statement 1 is correct.

The increase in the tilt of the Earth’s axis can lead to more extreme seasons on the earth. The greater Earth's axial tilt angle, the more extreme the seasons will become. Each hemisphere of the earth receives more solar radiation during summer when it is tilted toward the Sun and less during winter when it is tilted away. So, Statement 2 is correct.

• Gerosoppa Falls, also known as Jog Falls, is located in the Shimoga district of Karnataka. It is one of the highest waterfalls in India, with a height of 253 metres (829 feet). It is a segmented waterfall that, depending on rain and season, becomes a plunge waterfall.
• The waterfall is formed by the Sharavati River, which originates in the Western Ghats. It is an important river in Karnataka, flowing towards the west. It flows through the dense forests of the Western Ghats and drops down the rocky cliffs at Jog Falls. The water plunges into a deep green valley and creates a spectacular view. Hence option (b) is the correct answer.

• During the southwest monsoon period after having rained for a few days, if rain fails to occur for one or more weeks, it is known as a break in the monsoon. These dry spells are quite common during the rainy season. These breaks in the different regions are due to different reasons:
  • In northern India, rains are likely to fail if the rain-bearing storms are not very frequent along the monsoon trough or the ITCZ over this region.
  • Over the west coast, the dry spells are associated with days when winds blow parallel to the coast.
• Hence option (a) is the correct answer. 

• Recent context: Paris Club likely to provide financial assurances to IMF on Sri Lanka debt.
  • The Paris Club is a group of mostly western creditor countries that grew from a 1956 meeting in which Argentina agreed to meet its public creditors in Paris.
  • Their objective is to find sustainable debt-relief solutions for countries that are unable to repay their bilateral loans. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
  • All 22 are members of the group called Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
  • The members are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America.
  • It operates on the principles of consensus and solidarity. Any agreement reached with the debtor country will apply equally to all its Paris Club creditors.
  • A debtor country that signs an agreement with its Paris Club creditors, should not then accept from its non-Paris Club commercial and bilateral creditors such terms of treatment of its debt that are less favourable to the debtor than those agreed with the Paris Club.
  • India and China are not members. India acts as an ad-hoc participant. Hence, statement 2 is not correct. 

• The summer months are a period of excessive heat and falling air pressure in the northern half of the country. Because of the heating of the subcontinent, the ITCZ moves northwards occupying a position centered at 25°N in July.
• In the heart of the ITCZ in the northwest, the dry and hot winds known as ‘Loo’, blow in the afternoon, and very often, they continue to well into midnight. Dust storms in the evening are very common during May in Punjab, Haryana, Eastern Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Towards the end of summer, there are pre-monsoon showers which are common phenomena in Kerala and coastal areas of Karnataka. Locally, they are known as mango showers since they help in the early ripening of mangoes. These are called mango showers.
• Blossom showers help coffee flowers blossom in Kerala and nearby areas.
• Norwesters are dreaded evening thunderstorms in Bengal and Assam. Their notorious nature can be understood from the local nomenclature of ‘Kalbaisakhi’, a calamity of the month of Baisakh. These showers are useful for tea, jute, and rice cultivation. In Assam, these storms are known as “Bardoli Chheerha”. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer. 

• As the summer sets in and the sun shift northwards, the wind circulation over the subcontinent undergoes a complete reversal at both, the lower as well as the upper levels. By the middle of July, the low-pressure belt nearer the surface, (termed as Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), shifts northwards, roughly parallel to the Himalayas between 20° N and 25° N. Hence statement 1 is correct.
• By this time, the westerly jet stream withdraws from the Indian region. In fact, meteorologists have found an interrelationship between the northward shift of the equatorial trough (ITCZ) and the withdrawal of the westerly jet stream from over the North Indian Plain. Hence statement 2 is not correct.
• At the upper level, an easterly jet stream flows over the southern part of the Peninsula in June and has a maximum speed of 90 km per hour. In August, it is confined to 15°N latitude, and in September up to 22° N latitude. The easterlies normally do not extend to the north of 30° N latitude in the upper atmosphere. Hence statement 3 is not correct. 

There is a large gap between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This gap is occupied by a large number of small rocky objects that revolve around the Sun. These are called asteroids. Asteroids can only be seen through large telescopes. Asteroids are minor planets that cannot be classified as a planet or a comet. These are generally in the direct orbit around the Sun, also known as the inner solar system. So, Pair (1) is correct.

A meteor is usually a small object that occasionally enters the Earth's atmosphere. At that time, it has a very high speed. The friction due to the atmosphere heats it up. It glows and evaporates quickly. That is why the bright steak lasts for a very short time. So, Pair (2) is correct.

Some meteors are large, so they can reach the Earth before they evaporate completely. The body that reaches the Earth is called a meteorite. Meteorites help scientists investigate the nature of the material from which the solar system was formed. So, Pair (3) is correct.

Meteoroids are lumps of rock or iron that orbit the Sun, just as planets, asteroids, and comets do. Meteoroids, especially tiny particles called micrometeoroids, are extremely common throughout the solar system. They orbit the Sun among the rocky inner planets and the gas giants that make up the outer planets. Thus Meteoroids are not the body made mostly of ice and dust; it is Comet. Comets are icy bodies of frozen gases, rocks and dust left over from the solar system's formation about 4.6 billion years ago. They revolve around the Sun in highly elliptical orbits. However, their period of revolution around the Sun is usually very long. A Comet generally appears as a bright head with a long tail. The length of the tail grows in size as it approaches the Sun. The tail of a comet is always directed away from the Sun. So, Pair (4) is not correct.

Sill is a type of Volcanic Landform. The lava that is released during volcanic eruptions on cooling develops into igneous rocks. The cooling may take place either on reaching the surface or also while the lava is still in the crustal portion. Depending on the location of the cooling of the lava, igneous rocks are classified as volcanic rocks (cooling at the surface) and plutonic rocks (cooling in the crust).

The lava that cools within the crustal portions assumes different forms. These forms are called intrusive forms. The near horizontal bodies of the intrusive igneous rocks are called sill or sheet, depending on the thickness of the material. The thinner ones are called sheets, while the thick horizontal deposits are called sills. Arete is a type of Glacial landform. Horns form through headward erosion of the cirque walls. If three or more radiating glaciers cut headward until their cirques meet, high, sharp, pointed and steep-sided peaks called horns form.

The divides between cirque side walls or head walls get narrow because of progressive erosion and turn into serrated or saw-toothed ridges, sometimes referred to as Aretes, with very sharp crests and a zig-zag outline. An inselberg is an isolated hill, ridge, or small mountain that abruptly protrudes out from a virtually level surrounding plain. The word inselberg translates to "Island Mountain" in German. A massive inselberg is referred to as a Bernhardt, which manifests as dome-topped, bare, and steep-sided. A Bernhardt mostly occurs in arid and semi-arid regions. Stalactiteis a depositional landform.

The most common stalactites are speleothems, which occur in limestone caves. Stalactites hang as icicles of different diameters. Normally they are broad at their bases and taper towards the free ends showing up in a variety of forms. Stalagmites rise up from the floor of the caves. In fact, stalagmites form due to dripping water from the surface or through the thin pipe, of the stalactite, immediately below it. So, Option (b) is correct. 

In News: Parliament passed the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023.

• The Bill amends the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
• The Bill omits at least six previously mentioned atomic minerals from a list of 12 which cannot be commercially mined. Being on the atomic minerals list, the exploration and mining of these six — lithium, beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium, was previously reserved for government entities 

In News : The Batagaika crater is expanding at an alarming rate due to the thawing of the permafrost. Batagaika crater is situated in Russia’s Far East.

• It is located in the Sakha Republic and reaches depths of up to 100 metres.
• It is the world’s largest one kilometre-long permafrost crater.

Statement 1 is not correct and 2 is correct.

• The Island is disputed between Japan and Russia.
• he Kuril Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East.
• The Islands stretch approximately 1,300 km northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. 

• As the monsoon winds approach the Indian subcontinent, their southwesterly direction is modified by the relief and thermal low pressure over northwest India. The monsoon approaches the landmass in two branches: the Arabian Sea branch and the Bay of Bengal branch.
•  The monsoon winds originating over the Arabian Sea splits into three branches.
  • Its one branch is obstructed by the Western Ghats. They bring heavy rainfall in the windward side of the Sahyadris and western coastal plains.
  • Another branch of the Arabian sea monsoon strikes the coast north of Mumbai. Moving along the Narmada and Tapi river valleys, these winds cause rainfall in extensive areas of central India.
  • A third branch of this monsoon wind strikes the Saurashtra Peninsula and the Kachchh. It then passes over west Rajasthan and along the Aravalis, causing only a scanty rainfall. In Punjab and Haryana, it too joins the Bay of Bengal branch. These two branches, reinforced by each other, cause rains in the western Himalayas. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• The Bay of Bengal branch strikes the coast of Myanmar and part of southeast Bangladesh. But the Arakan Hills along the coast of Myanmar deflect a big portion of this branch toward the Indian subcontinent. The monsoon, therefore, enters West Bengal and Bangladesh from the south and southeast instead of from the south-westerly direction. Hence, statement 2 is correct. 

• Recent Context: The Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers (DHARA) Conference was organized recently by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in Pune.
  • DHARA is the annual meeting of the members of the River Cities Alliance (RCA).
  • It provides a platform to co-learn and discuss solutions for managing local water resources.
  • One of the thrust areas of the Urban 20 (U20) Initiative is to promulgate urban water security and DHARA 2023 is in sync with U20 as healthy rivers are vital to enhancing overall water security.
• About River Cities Alliance (RCA)
  • It is a collaborative effort between the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA). Hence statement 2 is correct.
  • It is launched by the Ministry of Jal Shakti along with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
  • River Cities Alliance started with 30 cities in 2021 and currently has 95 cities as members across India.
  • The Alliance is open to all river cities of India. Any river city can join the Alliance at any time. Hence statement 1 is not correct.
  • The Alliance focuses on three broad themes Networking, Capacity Building, and Technical Support.
  • It is a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of Urban Rivers such as:
    • Minimizing their water footprint,
    • Reducing impacts on river and water bodies,
    • Capitalizing on natural, intangible, architectural heritage and associated services and
    • Develop self-sufficient, self-sustainable water resources through recycling, and reuse strategy.

• Karewas are the thick deposits of glacial clay and other materials embedded with moraines. The Kashmir Himalayas are also famous for Karewa formations, which are useful for the cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron. Hence pair 1 is correctly matched.
• The extension of the Peninsular plateau can be seen as far as Jaisalmer in the West, where it has been covered by longitudinal sand ridges and crescent-shaped sand dunes called barchans. To the northwest of the Aravali hills lies the Great Indian desert. It is a land of undulating topography dotted with longitudinal dunes and barchans. This region receives low rainfall below 150 mm per year; hence, it has an arid climate with low vegetation cover. It is because of these characteristic features that this is also known as Marusthali. Hence pair 2 is not correctly matched.
• Dehradun is the largest of all the duns with an approximate length of 35-45 km and a width of 22-25 km. In the Great Himalayan range, the valleys are mostly inhabited by the Bhotias. These are nomadic groups who migrate to ‘Bugyals’ (the summer grasslands in the higher reaches) during the summer months and return to the valleys during winter. The famous ‘Valley of flowers’ is also situated in this Region. Hence pair 3 is not correctly matched.

• Ocean currents are like river flow in oceans. They represent a regular volume of water in a definite path and direction.
• The ocean currents may be classified based on their depth as surface currents and deep water currents :
  • surface currents constitute about 10 per cent of all the water in the ocean, these waters are the upper 400 m of the ocean
  • deep water currents make up the other 90 per cent of the ocean water.
• These waters move around the ocean basins due to variations in the density and gravity. Deep waters sink into the deep ocean basins at high latitudes, where the temperatures are cold enough to cause the density to increase.
• Ocean currents can also be classified based on temperature: as cold currents and warm currents: o cold currents bring cold water into warm water areas. These currents are usually found on the west coast of the continents in the low and middle latitudes (true in both hemispheres) and on the east coast in the higher latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere o warm currents bring warm water into cold water areas and are usually observed on the east coast of continents in the low and middle latitudes (true in both hemispheres). In the northern hemisphere they are found on the west coasts of continents in high latitudes.
• The Kuroshio Current, also known as the Black or Japan Current or the Black Stream, is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. • Hence option (b) is the correct answer. 

• Siwalik Range, also called Siwalik Hills or Outer Himalayas, Siwalik also spelled Shiwalik, is the sub- Himalayan range of the northern Indian subcontinent. It extends west-northwestward for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the Tista River in Sikkim state, northeastern India, through Nepal, across northwestern India, and into northern Pakistan. Though only 10 miles (16 km) wide in places, the range has an average elevation of 3,000 to 4,000 feet (900 to 1,200 meters). It rises abruptly from the plain of the Indus and Ganges (Ganga) rivers (south) and parallels the main range of the Himalayas (north), from which it is separated by valleys. The Siwaliks are sometimes considered to include the southern foothills of the Assam Himalayas, which extend eastward for 400 miles (640 km) across southern Bhutan to the bend of the Brahmaputra River. The range proper, to which the name Siwalik (from Sanskrit, meaning “Belonging to [the God] Shiva”) was formerly restricted, is the 200 miles (320 km) of foothills in India extending from the Ganges River at Haridwar, Uttarakhand state, northwestward to the Beas River.
• Vindhya Range is a broken range of hills forming the southern escarpment of the central upland of India. From Gujarat state on the west, it extends about 675 miles (1,086 km) across Madhya Pradesh state to abut on the Ganges (Ganga) River valley near Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The mountains form the southern edge of the Malwa Plateau and then divide into two branches: the Kaimur Range, running north of the Son River into western Bihar state, and the southern branch, running between the upper reaches of the Son and Narmada rivers to meet the Satpura Range in the Maikala Range (or Amarkantak Plateau).
• The Satpura Range is formed by a series of scarped plateaus on the south, generally at an elevation varying between 600-900 m above the mean sea level. This forms the northernmost boundary of the Deccan plateau. It is a classic example of the relict mountains which are highly denuded and form discontinuous ranges. • Hence option (a) is the correct answer.