Indian Geography - MCQ Online Test (2) - UPSC MCQ

Answer: d

The Luni River begins near Ajmer in the Pushkar valley of the western Aravalli Range at an elevation of about 550m. At this point, the river is also known as the Sagarmati. The river then flows in the southwest direction through the hills and plains of the Marwar region in Rajasthan. The river flows south-west and enters the Thar Desert before dissipating into the Rann of Kutch, traversing a total of 495 km. In spite of the high salinity, it is a major river in the region and serves as a primary source of irrigation. The Luni is not saline until it reaches Balotra, where high salt content in the soil impacts the river.

Answer: a

Atmospheric Natural Hazards:

• Blizzards
• Hailstorms
• Hurricanes
• Lightning
• Tornadoes
• Tropical storms

Answer: b

Karewas are the thick deposits of glacial clay and other materials embedded with moraines. The Kashmir Himalayas are famous for Karewa formations, which are useful for the cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron

Answer: b

The physiography of Manipur is unique by the presence of a large lake known as ‘Loktak’ lake at the centre, surrounded by mountains from all sides.

Answer: a

The Bay of Bengal island groups consist of about 572 islands/islets. The two principal groups of islets include the Ritchie’s archipelago and the Labrynth Island. The entire group of island is divided into two broad categories – the Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south. They are separated by a water body which is called the Ten degree channel.

Answer: c

Dodabetta peak (2,637 m) on the Nilgiri hills is the second highest after Anaimudi (2,695 m), the highest peak of Peninsular plateau is located on the Anaimalai hills of the Western Ghats.

The correct option is D.
1. There are three rivers that rise in Kerala and flow eastwards, Kabini into Karnataka and the other two into Tamil Nadu. All the three rivers ultimately join the Kaveri river.
2. Narmada and Tapi are the two west flowing rivers in Madhya Pradesh.

Answer: d

The Damodar occupies the eastern margins of the Chotanagpur Plateau where it flows through a rift valley and finally joins the Hugli. The Barakar is its main tributary. Once known as the ‘sorrow of Bengal’, the Damodar has been now tamed by the Damodar Valley Corporation, a multipurpose project.

Answer: c

Red soil is a group of soil that develop in a warm, temperate, moist climate under deciduous or mixed forests and that have thin organic and organic-mineral layers overlying a yellowish-brown leached layer resting on an illuvial red layer. This soil, also known as the omnibus group, have been developed over Archaean granite, gneiss and other crystalline rocks, the sedimentaries of the Cuddapah and Vindhayan basins and mixed Dharwarian group of rocks. Their colour is mainly due to ferric oxides occurring as thin coatings on the soil particles while the iron oxide occurs as haematite or as hydrous ferric oxide, the colour is red and when it occurs in the hydrate form as limonite the soil gets a yellow colour. Ordinarily the surface soils are red while the horizon below gets yellowish colour.

Answer: b

The Indus River flows southward and receives ‘Panjnad’ a little above Mithankot. The Panjnad is the name given to the five rivers of Punjab, namely the Satluj, the Beas, the Ravi, the Chenab and the Jhelum. It finally discharges into the Arabian Sea, east of Karachi.

Answer: c

The Narmada originates on the western flank of the Amarkantak plateau at a height of about 1,057 m. Flowing in a rift valley between the Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range in the north, it forms a picturesque gorge in marble rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near Jabalpur. After flowing a distance of about 1,312 km, it meets the Arabian Sea south of Bharuch, forming a broad 27 km long estuary. Its catchment area is about 98,796 sq. km. The Sardar Sarovar Project has been constructed on this river.

Answer: d

At Devprayag, the Bhagirathi meets the Alaknanda; hereafter, it is known as the Ganga. The Alaknanda has its source in the Satopanth glacier above Badrinath. The Alaknanda consists of the Dhauli and the Vishnu Ganga which meet at Joshimath or Vishnu Prayag. The other tributaries of Alaknanda such as the Pindar join it at Karna Prayag while Mandakini or Kali Ganga meets it at Rudra Prayag. The Ganga enters the plains at Haridwar.

Answer: b

Most parts of the country get rainfall during June-September, but on the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, it rains in the beginning of the winter season. North-Eastern monsoon causes rainfall on the coastal areas of Tamil Nadu in the beginning of winters.

Answer: b

One-third is the proportion of area of India which receives annual rainfall less than 75 cm.

Climate in south India is generally hotter than north India. Most parts of the nation don't experience temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F) in winter, and the temperature usually tends to exceed 40 °C (104 °F) during summer.

Answer: a

High pressure develops over North-western India due to low temperatures.

Answer: b

To protect tigers from illegal hunting. Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in 1973 by the Government of India during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's tenure. The project aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats and also to protect them from extinction, and preserving areas of biological importance as a natural heritage forever represented as close as possible the diversity of ecosystems across the tiger's distribution in the country. The project's task force visualized these tiger reserves as breeding nuclei, from which surplus animals would migrate to adjacent forests.

Answer: b

The Biosphere Reserve spreads over three districts of Uttarakhand - Chamoli in Garhwal and Bageshwar and Pithoragarh in Kumaun.

Total number of Biosphere reserves in India is 18.

B is the correct option.India is one of the few countries which has a forest policy since 1894. The policy was revised in 1952 and again in 1988. The main plank of the revised forest policy of 1988 is protection, conservation, and development of forests. In accordance with this goal, the NPP has a target of keeping 33% of land area under forest in India because that percentage is regarded as the minimum required for maintaining the ecological balance in a country. The actual forest area is approximately 22% but the policy hoped to increase that percentage to 33%.