Geography questions asked in previous year papers of SSC, Banking, Railway and other exams, with the exam and year, answers and explanations.
1078 previous-year questions
Which one among the following is the northernmost geographical location ?
New Delhi lies at about 28.6° N, a little north of both Kathmandu and Thimphu, even though Nepal and Bhutan lie to the north of most of India.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about rock structure: 1. Conglomerates are clastic sedimentary rocks. 2. Slate is a non-clastic sedimentary rock. 3. Granite is a plutonic igneous rock. 4. Basalt is an extrusive igneous rock. Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Statement 2 is wrong because slate is a metamorphic rock, formed when shale is squeezed and heated, not a sedimentary rock.
Read the full explanation →With reference to coal-based thermal power plants in India, consider the following statements : 1. None of them uses seawater. 2. None of them is set up in water-stressed district. 3. None of them is privately owned. How many of the above statements are correct?
All three statements are false: some coal plants use seawater, many stand in water-stressed districts, and a large share are privately owned.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. In a seismograph, P waves are recorded earlier than S waves. 2. In P waves, the individual particles vibrate to and fro in the direction of wave propagation whereas in S waves, the particles vibrate up and down at right angles to the direction of wave propagation. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
P waves are the fastest seismic waves and reach a seismograph first, and they move particles along the direction of travel, while S waves move them at right angles to it.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements:
Statement-I: The soil in tropical rain forests is rich in nutrients.
Statement-II: The high temperature and moisture of tropical rain forests cause dead organic matter in the soil to decompose quickly.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
Rain forest soils are poor in nutrients, even though dead matter decomposes very fast there. In the hot, wet climate of tropical rain forests, fallen leaves and wood are broken down by fungi, bacteria and insects within weeks.
Read the full explanation →With reference to the Earth's atmosphere, which one of the following statements is correct?
Infrared radiation is strongly absorbed by water vapour, and most water vapour lies in the lowest few kilometres of the atmosphere.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following countries:
1. Bulgaria
2. Czech Republic
3. Hungary
4. Latvia
5. Lithuania
6. Romania
How many of the above-mentioned countries share a land border with Ukraine?
Of the six countries listed, only Hungary and Romania share a land border with Ukraine. Ukraine has land borders with seven countries: Russia to the east and north-east, Belarus to the north, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, and Romania and Moldova to the south-west.
Read the full explanation →In which one of the following states 'Roopkund' lake is located?
Roopkund is a high-altitude glacial lake in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Roopkund lies at a height of about 5,000 metres in the Garhwal Himalaya, below the peaks of Trishul and Nanda Ghunti.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about Barchans :
1. These landforms are found in Thar desert in India.
2. The windward side has concave slope with maximum height at the centre.
3. Two ends of the barchan are called horns.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Barchans are common in the Thar and their two tips are called horns, but the windward side of a barchan is a gentle convex slope, not a concave one.
Read the full explanation →In which one of the following layers of the atmosphere all weather phenomenon occur?
Almost all water vapour and dust of the atmosphere lie in the troposphere, so clouds, rain, storms and other weather events happen there.
Read the full explanation →A geographical grid has : 1. Lines that run east to west around the globe to mark latitude 2. Lines that run north to south from north pole to south pole indicate longitude Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The geographical grid is the network of parallels of latitude, running east to west, and meridians of longitude, running from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the oldest era in Geological History determining the age of various rock types?
The Precambrian covers all of Earth's history from its formation about 4.6 billion years ago to the start of the Cambrian about 541 million years ago.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the usual unit of measurement for Air Pressure used in India ?
Weather maps and reports in India give atmospheric pressure in millibars, the same value as hectopascals. Air pressure is the weight of the air column pressing on a unit area.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. Population ageing is the process by which the share of the older population becomes proportionately lesser.
2. In most of the developed countries, the population in higher age groups has increased.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Population ageing is the process by which the share of older people becomes proportionately larger, not lesser, so statement 1 is false, while statement 2 is true.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements :
1. Many of the world's largest mountain chains exist beneath the sea.
2. Some mountain chains are revealed as island arcs.
3. The mid-oceanic ridges form the longest mountain chains.
4. The mid-Atlantic ridge rises thirty-three metres above the floor of the Atlantic.
Which of the statements given above are correct ?
Statement 4 is wrong: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises thousands of metres above the ocean floor, not thirty-three metres. The ocean floor has relief as varied as the land.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements :
1. The Great Northern Plains are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.
2. They are one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.
3. Between the Yamuna at Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metres in elevation.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
All three statements correctly describe the Northern Plains of India. The Northern Plains were built from alluvium laid down by the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries, which together drain the Himalayas.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following correctly explains the change in seasons on Earth ?
Because the axis is tilted, each hemisphere leans towards the Sun for part of the year and away from it for the rest, which brings the seasons.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following pairs of mine and mineral is NOT correctly matched?
Kudremukh in Karnataka is known for iron ore, not bauxite, so this pair is wrong. The Kudremukh hills in the Western Ghats of Chikkamagaluru district hold large deposits of magnetite iron ore.
Read the full explanation →Which one among the following is the highest mountain in Africa ?
At about 5,895 m, it is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in north-eastern Tanzania, close to the Kenyan border.
Read the full explanation →How can resources be classified on the basis of their origin ?
By origin, resources are either biotic, which come from living things, or abiotic, which come from non-living things. Biotic resources are obtained from the biosphere and have life: plants, animals, fish, livestock and human beings.
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