1. Statement (A): Deserts can be effective sources for the production of perennial energy.
Reason (R): As much energy is consumed by mankind in one year, the Desert can receive energy more than that in only 6 hours from the Sun.
Choose the correct answer from the following code –
(a) (A) and (R), both are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(b) (A) and (R), both are correct, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(c) (A) is correct, but (R) is false
(d) (A) is false but (R) is correct
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2013]
Ans. (a) (A) and (R), both are correct and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
- Gerhard Knies, a German scientist who studies particles, realized that during a span of six hours, the deserts get more energy from the sun than what people use in a year.
- This means that deserts can be a constant source of energy.
- Therefore, the statement and its explanation are both correct.
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2. Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). Choose the correct answer from the codes given below:
Assertion (A): Most of the hot deserts of the world are located on the Western margins of continents between 15º-30º North and South latitudes.
Reason (R): Trade winds lose their moisture and humidity as it move westward.
Codes :
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
(c) (A) is true but (R) is false
(d) (A) is false but (R) is true
[U.P. B.E.O. (Pre) 2019]
Ans. (a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
- Most of the world’s hot deserts are located close to the western edges of continents between 15º and 30º North and South Latitudes.
- Examples of these hot deserts include the Sahara and Kalahari deserts in Africa and the Atacama in South America.
- The trade winds from both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres reach this region and become dry when they reach the western edges of the continent, leading to very little rainfall.
- This lack of rain is an important factor in the formation of deserts in this region.
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3. Desert is defined as the area where –
(a) Temperature remains more than 420 C
(b) No plants are found
(c) Annual rain occurs less than 25 Cm
(d) Prominence of sand barrows
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2009]
Ans. (c) Annual rain occurs less than 25 Cm
- A desert is an area that gets less than 25 cm of rain per year.
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4. The biggest desert in the world is :
(a) Kalahari
(b) Gobi
(c) Sahara
(d) Thar
[M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2010, U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1994]
Ans. (c) Sahara
- The Sahara Desert is the largest desert on Earth that is not a polar region.
- It is located in North Africa and is about 3.6 million square miles in size.
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5. Which of the following is the biggest Desert in the world–
(a) Kalahari
(b) Gobi
(c) Sahara
(d) Thar
[Uttarakhand Lower Sub. (Pre) 2010]
Ans. (c) Sahara
- The Sahara Desert is the biggest desert in the world that does not have a polar climate.
- It is located in North Africa and covers an area of around 3.6 million square miles.
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6. The most populated desert in the world is –
(a) Sahara
(b) Gobi
(c) Thar
(d) Kalahari
[U.P.P.C.S.(Pre) 2012]
Ans. (c) Thar
- The Thar desert has the highest number of people living there compared to other deserts, with 83 people per square kilometer, while other deserts have only 7 people per square kilometer.
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7. Takla Makan desert lies in –
(a) Afghanistan
(b) China
(c) Kazakhstan
(d) Mongolia
[U.P.P.C.S. (Spl) (Mains) 2008]
Ans. (b) China
- The Taklamakan Desert is located in China’s Xinjiang province.
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8. The Desert ‘Takla Makan’ is located in the –
(a) Kazakhstan
(b) Turkmenistan
(c) Uzbekistan
(d) China
[53rd to 55th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2011]
Ans. (d) China
- The Taklamakan Desert is found in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China.
- It is the biggest desert in China and the second-biggest moving desert in the world.
- It takes up an area of around 330,000 square kilometers.
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9. Which of the following is not correctly matched?
Desert Country
(a) Sonoran – United States of America
(b) Taklamakan – China
(c) Karakum – Turkmenistan
(d) Gibson – Brazil
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2016, U.P. P.C.S. (Pre) 2018]
Ans. (d) Gibson – Brazil
- The Gibson Desert, an area of Australia, is a big desert that covers a lot of dry land in Western Australia, not Brazil. The other choices are correct.
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10. Dasht-e- Lut is located in –
(a) Iran
(b) Libya
(c) Kenya
(d) Nigeria
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2015]
Ans. (a) Iran
- Dasht-e-Lut is a very big salt desert located in Iran’s Kerman province.
- According to NASA, it’s the hottest desert in the world.
- Their Aqua satellite recorded a temperature of 70.70 C in the desert in 2005.
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11. In which country is the Gobi desert located?
(a) Mexico
(b) Somalia
(c) Mongolia
(d) Egypt
[Chhattisgarh P.C.S. (Pre) 2008, U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 1993, 38th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 1992]
Ans. (c) Mongolia
- The Gobi Desert covers parts of northern China and southern Mongolia, and is bordered by the Altai mountain range.
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12. The Great Victorian Desert is located at –
(a) Australia
(b) India
(c) Egypt
(d) North Africa
(e) None of the above/More than one of the above
[60th to 62nd B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2016]
Ans. (a) Australia
- The Great Victorian desert is situated in South-west Australia and it is the biggest desert in the country, covering a total of 348,750 square kilometres.
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13. The largest desert of South Asia is :
(a) Atacama
(b) Colorado
(c) Kalahari
(d) Thar
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1996]
Ans. (d) Thar
- The Thar Desert, which is also known as the Great Indian Desert, is the largest desert in South Asia.
- It covers an area from western India to South-East Pakistan.
- The other deserts are located in these regions –
- Atacama Desert – Chile
- Colorado Desert – California (U.S.A)
- Kalahari Desert – Botswana, Namibia and South Africa
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14. Which one of the following statements is not true regarding the Atacama ?
(a) It is a desert in South America.
(b) It is the World’s driest desert.
(c) It lies in Southern Chile.
(d) It has rich reserves of nitrates.
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2006]
Ans. (c) It lies in Southern Chile.
- The Atacama Desert is located in South America and is the driest place on the planet.
- It has large amounts of Sodium Nitrate, copper and other minerals.
- This desert covers a large area in northern Chile, not southern Chile.
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15. The Atacama is located in –
(a) Asia
(b) South America
(c) Africa
(d) North America
[Uttarakhand Lower Sub. (Pre) 2010]
Ans. (b) South America
- The Atacama Desert is situated in South America and is the driest area in the world.
- It is packed with Sodium Nitrate, copper and other minerals.
- It runs along the northern part of Chile and not in the south.
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16. The Driest place on earth is –
(a) Arabian desert
(b) Atacama desert
(c) Gobi desert
(d) Thar desert
[U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2009]
Ans. (b) Atacama desert
- The Atacama Desert in Chile is the driest place on Earth, except for the polar regions.
- It gets only about one millimetre of rain per year, and some parts haven’t had any rain for over 500 years.
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17. Which one of the following is a temperate desert?
(a) Arabian Desert
(b) Atacama Desert
(c) Kalahari Desert
(d) Patagonian Desert
[U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2011]
Ans. (d) Patagonian Desert
- Temperate deserts are located between the latitudes of 300 to 600.
- Examples of temperate deserts include the Gobi Desert, Ladakh Desert and Patagonia Desert.
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18. Consider the following statements :-
(1) Tropical deserts in the world are found in the trade wind bands of western ends of Continents-
(2) In India, Eastern Himalayan region receives more rain from North-eastern winds.
Which among the above statements is/are/ correct ?
Code :
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2009]
Ans. (a) Only 1
- Tropical hot deserts can typically be found near the Equator, on the western side of continents.
- This means statement 1 is true.
- However, statement 2 is incorrect, as the Eastern Himalayan region in India receives more rain from the winds coming from the Bay of Bengal.
- Therefore statement 2 is wrong.
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19. The Kalahari Desert lies in
1. Botswana
2. Namibia
3. Zaire
4. Zambia
Select the correct answer from the code given below –
Code :
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1 and 2
(d) 3 and 4
[U.P.P.C.S. (GIC) 2010, U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2008]
Ans. (c) 1 and 2
- The Kalahari is a big desert that covers 900000 square kilometers in Southern Africa.
- It’s mostly in Botswana and parts of Namibia.
- South Africa is not included.
- The correct answer is Botswana and Namibia.
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20. Which of the following deserts is located in the Southern Hemisphere?
(a) Kalahari
(b) Gobi
(c) Chihuahuan
(d) Sahara
[U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) (Re-Exam) 2015]
Ans. (a) Kalahari
- The Kalahari Desert is in the Southern part of the world and covers around 90,000 square km. mainly in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa.
- Its name comes from the Tswana word Kgala, which means “the great thirst” or “a place without water”.
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21. What could be the main reason/reasons for the formation of African and Eurasian desert belt?
1. It is located in the sub-tropical high-pressure cells.
2. It is under the influence of warm ocean currents.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
[I.A.S. (Pre) 2011]
Ans. (a) 1 only
- The deserts in Africa and Eurasia are caused by big weather patterns.
- These patterns don’t bring much rain because of their adiabatic nature.
- Deserts don’t always need warm ocean currents to form; for example, the Gobi Desert is cold and it doesn’t get affected by any warm currents.
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