Indian Geography Questions and Answers

Answer: D

The plains were made by the Ghaghar (Ghaggar).

The Ghaggar, a seasonal river usually identified with the ancient Saraswati, enters Rajasthan from Haryana and dies out in the sands of Hanumangarh and Sri Ganganagar. The fertile alluvial plain of these two districts was built up from its deposits, and the Kalibangan site lies on its old bed.

The Luni flows south-west through western Rajasthan to the Rann of Kutch. The Gambhir and the Parbati are rivers of eastern Rajasthan, in the Bharatpur and Dholpur region, far from the north-west.

Answer: C

The place not on NH-80 is Kishangarh.

The highway described runs east from NH-52 near Kothum, south of Jaipur, through Lalsot, Karauli and Bari to join NH-44 at Dhaulpur on the Chambal. Lalsot, Karauli and Bari all lie along that eastward line.

Kishangarh is in Ajmer district, well to the west of Jaipur, on the Jaipur-Ajmer corridor. A road running from south of Jaipur to Dhaulpur in the east cannot pass through it.

Answer: C

Kho-Dariba is famous for copper.

Khoh-Dariba in Alwar district is one of the copper deposits of the Khetri-Alwar belt of north-eastern Rajasthan, along with Khetri-Singhana in Jhunjhunu. Rajasthan is among the leading copper-producing states.

Do not confuse it with Rajpura-Dariba in Rajsamand district, which is a zinc, lead and silver deposit. Manganese in Rajasthan is mined mainly in Banswara, and tungsten at Degana in Nagaur.

Answer: A

The statement that is not a method of preventing desertification is discourage plantation on sandy soil to avoid water loss.

Vegetation is the main defence against a spreading desert. Trees, shrubs and grasses bind sand, slow the wind and add organic matter, so planting on sandy soil is exactly what desert control programmes promote, through shelterbelts and sand dune stabilisation.

The other three are genuine measures: a green belt to stop the desert moving east, social and agro forestry with local species, and a ban on cutting plants that conserve soil and water.

Answer: B

The feature that does not belong is uniform distribution of rain.

Rainfall in Rajasthan is highly uneven. It decreases sharply from the south-east and Mount Abu, where it can exceed 100 cm, to the far west around Jaisalmer, where it is under 20 cm, and it also varies greatly from year to year.

The other three are true features: a hot summer from March to mid June, most rain falling in the south-west monsoon from June to September, and an arid or semi-arid climate over most of the state.

Answer: C

The park on the World Heritage List is Keoladeo National Park.

Keoladeo Ghana National Park at Bharatpur, a wetland famous for its resident and migratory birds, including formerly the Siberian crane, was inscribed by UNESCO in 1985 as a natural World Heritage Site.

Sariska and Mukundra Hills are not World Heritage Sites. Ranthambore Fort is part of the 'Hill Forts of Rajasthan' site, but that listing is for the fort, not for Ranthambore National Park.

Answer: D

The breed known as 'Desi' is Malpuri.

The Malpuri sheep of eastern and central Rajasthan, found mainly in Jaipur, Tonk and Sawai Madhopur, is also called the Desi breed. It is a hardy mutton-type sheep with coarse wool, suited to carpet making.

Magra, Chokla and Pugal are other Rajasthan breeds, from the Bikaner, Shekhawati and Bikaner-Jaisalmer tracts respectively, and none of them goes by the name Desi.

Answer: C

Sub-tropical mountain forest is found in the Mount Abu region.

Mount Abu, in Sirohi district, is the highest part of the Aravallis, with Guru Shikhar at about 1,722 m. Its altitude and its rainfall, the highest in the state, support the only sub-tropical hill forest in Rajasthan, with evergreen and semi-evergreen species not found elsewhere in the state.

Pali, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur are lowland districts of the dry west and south-west, where the vegetation is dry deciduous scrub and thorn forest.

Answer: D

The most productive soil of eastern Rajasthan is Jalod (alluvial) soil.

Alluvial soil, laid down by the Banas, Chambal and their tributaries, covers the eastern plains of Jaipur, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dholpur, Tonk and Sawai Madhopur. It is deep, fine and rich in potash, and with irrigation it supports wheat, mustard and other crops, making it the most fertile soil of the region.

Sandy soil covers the western desert. Red and loamy soils are found mainly in the southern hill districts such as Udaipur, Dungarpur and Banswara, and black soil in the south-eastern Hadoti plateau rather than the eastern plains.

Answer: C

Urmila Sagar Dam is built on the Parbati river.

The dam is in Dholpur district in eastern Rajasthan and is an irrigation dam. The Parbati is a tributary of the Chambal, and it is the river that irrigation lists of Rajasthan give for this dam.

The other three names, Sohadra, Takli and Khari, are not the river on which this dam stands, so they can be dismissed once the Parbati is known.