UPSC Indian Geography 4 (Old Year Questions)

Ans c
Red soil is formed as a result of the wearing down of the old crystalline rocks. It is less clayey and more of a sandy nature and has a rich content of iron and small Humus content. Red soil is poor in poor in nitrogen, phosphorous and lime. Reddish color of red soil is due to wide diffusion of iron.

Ans a
Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds, and internodes of the Camelia sinensis plant, prepared and cured by various methods. In addition to stem cutting, tea is also propagated from seeds and leaf cuttings. Hence, statements 2 is not correct.

Ans c
Bhiterkanika National Park is a national park located in the Kendrapara District of Orissa in India. The park is home to the Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), white crocodile, Indian python, black ibis, and darters. Olive Ridley sea-turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest on Gahirmatha and other nearby beaches. The endangered Indian Bustard is the major attraction of the Desert national park. Brown and white colour, Bustard is a metre high in height, and has long bare legs and long neck. One can spot this tall and graceful ground dwelling bird near Sudashri water hole. Evarikulam national park is known for Nilgiri, Hoolak Gibbon are found in the Manas National Park, Namdapha national park and Kaziranga national park.

Ans c
Biosphere reserves are areas of terrestrial and coastal ecosystems promoting solutions to reconcile the conservation of biodiversity with its sustainable use. Biosphere Reserve is declared to conserve some representative ecosystems as a whole for long-term. Each Biosphere Reserve is intended to contribute to the conservation of landscapes, ecosystems, species and genetic variation; Boundaries of a national park and biosphere reserve are determined by legislation. There is no biotic interference (except the buffer zone) in national parks and biosphere reserves whereas limited interference is permitted in wildlife sanctuary.

Ans d
The carrying capacity of a biological species in environment is the population size of the species that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available in the environment. For the human population, more complex variables such as sanitation and medical care are sometimes considered as part of the necessary establishment. Thus Sustainable development is intertwined with Carrying capacity.

Ans c
Montane Wet Temperate Forest

Ans d
India’s total landmass is 32,87,263 square kilometers out of which total land area is 30,60,500 square kilometers. (Rest is water bodies). In 2005 the total arable land and land planted under (That is 51.62% of India’s total land.), and total irrigated land was 548,000 square kilometers. The total of non-arable land and land not under permanent crops was 1,276,190 square kilometers. Land use patter in 1999-2000: Net sown area: 46% Forest: 23% Other areas: 30% [14% (not available for cultivation) + 4% (pastures) + 5% (culturable wasteland) + 8% (fallow land)].

Ans d
The British biologist Normal Myers coined the term “biodiversity hotspot” in 1988 as a biogeographic region characterized both by exceptional levels of plant endemism and by serious levels of habitat loss. Biodiversity hotspots are also located in temperate regions like California floristic province and Japan etc. Western Himalayas and Andaman Nicobar Islands were not Biodiversity Hotspots.

Ans d
There are three east flowing rivers in Kerala 1. Paampar; 2. Bhavanil; and 3. Kabani. Paampar and Bhavani flows into Tamilnadu. Kabani enters Karnataka. All three of them empties into Kaveri The Son originates in Madhya Pradesh state, just east of the headwaters of the Narmada River, and flows north-northwest through Madhya Pradesh state before turning sharply eastward when it encounters the southwest-northeast-running Kaimur Range.

Ans d
The Beas River is the second easternmost of the rivers of the Punjab. The river rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh, India, and flows for some 470 km (290 miles) to the Sutlej River in western Punjab state. The Chenab River is formed by the confluence of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers at Tandi located in the upper Himalayas in the Lahul and Spiti District of Himachal Pradesh, India. Ravi river originates in the Himalayas in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, India following a north-westerly course. The Sutlej originates from the Rakas Lake, which is connected to the Manasarovar lake by a stream, in Tibet. Its flows in a north-westerly direction and enters Himachal Pradesh at the Shipki Pass, where it is joined by the Spiti river.

Ans a
Amarkantak is situated in Anuppur District of Madhya Pradesh in India. This is where the Narmada River, the Sone River and Johila River emerge. Narmada river flows westwards over a length of 1,312 km (815.2 ml) before draining through the Gulf of Cambey (Khambat) into the Arabian Sea, 30 km (18.6 mi) west of Bharuch city of Gujarat. The Sone river flows north-northwest through Madhya Pradesh state before turning sharply eastward when it encounters the southwest-northeast-running Kaimur Range. The Son parallels the Kaimur Range, flowing east-northeast through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar stats to join the Ganges just above Patna which is flowing towards Bay of Bengal.

Ans d
Located in the arid zone of Rajasthan, the Sambhar Lake is one of the largest inland saline lakes in India. This wetland is one of the most important wintering areas for flamingoes and pelicans. Salt extraction is one of the major activities in the wetland.

Ans d
The Agaria, originally the inhabitants of Agra town, but due to harassments of Muslim ruler of Agra, they migrated to Kutchch through Ahmedabad. They are concentrated in a few villages including Bhut, Matra, Mandvi and Loharto of Gujarat.

Ans a
India: 349 km2 (35th in the world) Sri Lanka: 319 km2 (35th in the world) Pakistan: 206 km2 (53rd in the world) Nepal: 184 km2 (56th in the world).

Ans b
The Shompen tribe is one of the two Mongoloid tribes that inhabit the Nicobar Islands in the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Shompens consist of two sub-divisions: the hostile Shompens and the Mawa Shompens. There have been instances in the past in which the hostile Shompens have declared wars with the Mawa Shompens. However, such wars are now a story of the past.

Ans c
The Earth has an outer silicate solid crust, a highly viscous mantle, a liquid outer cover that is much less viscous than the mantle, and a solid inner core. Seismic measurements show that the core is divided into two parts, a solid inner core with a radius of ~ 1220 km and a liquid outer core extending beyond it to as radius of ~ 3400 km. The solid inner core was discovered in 1936 by Inge Lehmann and is generally believed to be composed primarily of iron and some nickel. In early stages of Earth’s formation about 4.5 billion years ago, melting would have caused denser substances to sink toward the center in a process called planetary differentiation, while less-dense materials would have migrated to the crust. The core is thus believed to largely be composed of iron (80%), along with nickel and one or more light elements, whereas other dense elements, such as lead and uranium, either are too rate to be significant or tend to bind to lighter elements and thus remain in the crust. Some have argued that the inner core may be in the form of a single iron crystal.

Ans a
Tropical deserts: From the high-pressure belts, about 30o N. and 30o S., the trade winds blow towards the low-pressure belt round the Equator. As they are flowing from cooler to warmer regions they become warmer as they proceed, and tend to absorb rather than deposit moisture. Thus they are dry winds. For this reason, a desert belt is found around the tropics on the western sides of the continents. Eastern Himalaya is situated between Central Nepal in the west to Myanmar in the east, occupying Sikkim, North Bengal, Bhutan and North-East India. The Bay of Bengal Branch of SW Monsoon flows over the Bay of Bengal heading towards North-Eastern India and Bengal, picking up more moisture from the Bay of Bengal. Its hits the Eastern Himalaya and provides a huge amount of rain to the regions of North-East India, Bangladesh and West Bengal. Mawsynram, situated on the southern slopes of the Eastern Himalaya in Shillong, India is one of the wettest places on Earth. After striking the Eastern Himalaya it turns towards the West, travels over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, at a rate of roughly 1-2 weeks per state, poring rain all along its way.

Ans d
Under the US Geological Survey estimate, Australia and India have particularly large reserves of thorium. India and Australia are believed to possess approx 300,000 metric tonnes each; i.e. each country possessing 25% of the world’s thorium reserves. Furthermore the IAEA report mentions that India possesses two thirds (67%) of global reserves of monazite, the primary thorium ore.

Ans a
On July 2008, Navayuga Group, one of India’s leading infrastructure developers, has unveiled the country’s largest private sector port in Krishnapatnam in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh, some 180 km from Chennai. UPA Chairperson and Congress President Ms Sonia Gandhi dedicated the port to the nation.

Ans b
Major Ports in India a) On the West Coast: Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port at Jhava Sheva, Kandla, Mormugao, New Mangalore and Cochin. b) On the East Coast: Kolkata/Haldia, Paradip, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Ennore and Tuticorin.