Indian Geography Questions and Answers

Answer: D

This newer alluvium is called khadar.

It lies in the low-lying flood plain beside the river, is renewed by silt at every flood, and is therefore fine, porous and highly fertile. The older alluvium on the higher terraces is bhangar, which is coarser and often contains lime nodules called kankar.

Answer: D

The answer is I, II and IV.

South Indian cane gives a higher yield per acre and a higher sucrose content, because the tropical climate suits it, and the crushing season runs far longer - often eight months against four in the north, since there is no severe winter. Labour costs are not lower in the south; they are generally higher.

Answer: B

The earth is called the watery planet.

About 71 per cent of its surface is covered by water, and it is the only body in the solar system where water is stable as a liquid at the surface. Seen from space it is predominantly blue, which is also why it is called the blue planet.

Answer: A

India's copper ore reserves have been estimated at 400 million tonnes, with a metal content of 5 million tones. The principal copper belt of India lies in Singhbhum and Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. The mining centres are located at Mosabani, Ghatsila, Thobani and Badia of Singbhbum, Hazaribagh of Bihar, the Khetri and Dariba areas of Rajasthan, and Agnigundala of Andhra Pradesh. Total production is 2.6 million tones.

Answer: C

They belong to the Himalayan system.

The Zaskar, Ladakh, Kailas and Karakoram ranges lie north of the Great Himalayas in the trans-Himalayan zone. The Karakoram holds K2 and the Siachen glacier, and the Kailas range the peak sacred to four religions.

Answer: B

The McMahon Line lies between India and China.

It was drawn at the Simla Convention of 1914 by Sir Henry McMahon, along the Himalayan crest in the eastern sector. India regards it as the boundary; China does not accept it and claims Arunachal Pradesh, which is the origin of the dispute there.

Answer: D

North Western Railway is headquartered at Jaipur.

It was formed in 2002 and covers Rajasthan and parts of Haryana and Gujarat, with divisions at Jaipur, Ajmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur.

Answer: A

Correct answer: they force the moist southwest monsoon air to rise

The Western Ghats run parallel to the Arabian Sea coast and stand directly across the path of the southwest monsoon. Moist air arriving from the sea is forced to rise over them; rising air expands and cools, its water vapour condenses, and rain falls on the windward slopes. This is orographic rainfall. The windward side receives over 2,500 mm a year in places, while the Deccan plateau immediately behind lies in a rain shadow and may receive under 600 mm. The transition occurs within a short distance, and it is why the interior of Maharashtra and Karnataka is so much drier than the coast a hundred kilometres away. The descending air on the leeward side warms by compression, which raises its capacity to hold moisture and makes it drying rather than raining air. The Ghats are also a global biodiversity hotspot and the source of the Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri.

Answer: A

The sun is made chiefly of hydrogen and helium.

By mass it is about 71 per cent hydrogen and 27 per cent helium, with the remaining 2 per cent everything else. The core fuses hydrogen into helium at about 15 million kelvin, converting some four million tonnes of matter into energy every second.

Answer: B

Ganymede is the largest satellite in the solar system.

A moon of Jupiter, it is 5,268 km across - larger than Mercury - and is the only moon known to generate its own magnetic field. Titan, Saturn's largest, is a little smaller but has a dense atmosphere.