Geography Previous Year Questions (PYQ) with Answers – Page 6

The correct answer is A, Indira point. Indira Point on Great Nicobar Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is the southernmost point of Indian territory, at about 6 degrees 45 minutes north latitude. It was earlier called Pygmalion Point and was renamed after Indira Gandhi in 1985. It lies only about 150 km from Indonesia's Sumatra, and its lighthouse area was partly submerged by the 2004 tsunami. The question asks about the whole territory, which includes the islands, so the mainland tip is not the answer. B is wrong because Kanyakumari is the southernmost point of the Indian mainland, not of the entire territory. D is wrong because Cape Comorin is simply the old English name of Kanyakumari, so it is the same mainland point. C is wrong because Karondi is not a recognised geographical extremity of India. Exam tip: southernmost point of India is Indira Point (Great Nicobar); southernmost point of the mainland is Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin).

The correct answer is B, Gerusoppa. The Sharavati river in Karnataka falls from a height of about 253 metres as Jog Falls, which is also called Gerusoppa Falls after the village nearby, and Jogada Gundi in the local tongue. It is among the highest plunge waterfalls in India, and the water comes down in four separate streams named Raja, Rani, Roarer and Rocket. The Linganamakki dam upstream now controls the flow, so the falls are at their finest during the monsoon. Option A is wrong because Hogenakkal is on the Kaveri in Tamil Nadu, close to the Karnataka border. Option C is wrong because Soochipara, or Sentinel Rock falls, is on the Chaliyar in Wayanad, Kerala. Option D is wrong because Athirappilly is on the Chalakudy river in Kerala and is called the Niagara of India. Exam tip: the Sharavati makes Jog or Gerusoppa Falls in Karnataka, while the Kaveri makes Hogenakkal and Shivanasamudra.

The correct answer is C, 15. The Planning Commission divided India into 15 agro-climatic zones in 1989, so that farm planning could follow soil, climate, rainfall and water resources rather than State boundaries. The zones run from the Western Himalayan Region and the Trans-Gangetic Plains to the East Coast Plains and Hills, the Western Dry Region and the Islands Region. The idea was to match crops and cropping patterns to the land, and it is still the base on which farm research and extension work are planned. Option A is wrong because 20 is not the Planning Commission's figure. Option B is wrong because 10 is too few and matches no such classification. Option D is wrong because 30 confuses this division with the far larger number of agro-climatic sub-zones worked out by the ICAR. Exam tip: the Planning Commission marked 15 agro-climatic zones in 1989, while the ICAR uses 127 agro-climatic sub-zones.

The correct answer is D, Sikkim. Sikkim does not touch Myanmar. Its neighbours across the border are Nepal to the west, China in the north and east, and Bhutan to the south-east. Only four Indian states share the border with Myanmar - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram - and that border runs for about 1,643 km. Option A is wrong because Arunachal Pradesh meets Myanmar along its south-eastern edge. Option B is wrong because Mizoram has a long stretch of the Myanmar border besides its border with Bangladesh. Option C is wrong because Manipur meets Myanmar on the east, and Moreh in Manipur is the main trading town on that border. Sikkim is India's least populated state and shares borders with three countries, but Myanmar is not one of them. Exam tip: remember the Myanmar border states as A-N-M-M - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

The correct answer is B, Sandstone. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock: grains of sand carried by rivers or wind settle in layers and harden over time. Metamorphic rocks are different, being older rocks changed in place by great heat and pressure inside the crust, which is why they are harder and often banded. Option A is wrong because marble is limestone that has been metamorphosed. Option C is wrong because quartzite is the metamorphic form of sandstone itself. Option D is wrong because slate is metamorphosed shale and splits into thin sheets. Rocks fall into three families: igneous, formed from cooling magma or lava, sedimentary, formed from deposits, and metamorphic, formed by change. They pass from one family to another through the rock cycle, so sandstone can turn into quartzite, and any rock that melts and cools again becomes igneous. Exam tip: limestone becomes marble, sandstone becomes quartzite, shale becomes slate and coal becomes graphite.

The correct answer is D, Tide. A tide is the regular rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and, to a smaller extent, the Sun, together with the centrifugal force of the spinning earth. Most coasts get two high tides and two low tides in about 24 hours and 52 minutes. When the Sun, Moon and Earth line up at new moon and full moon, the pulls add up and give the high spring tides; when the Sun and Moon are at right angles in the first and third quarters, the pulls work against each other and give the low neap tides. Tides help ships enter ports and are used for tidal power. Option A is wrong because waves are made by wind blowing over the surface. Option B is wrong because a tsunami is a single train of huge waves set off by an undersea earthquake or landslide. Option C is wrong because currents are steady horizontal flows of water such as the Gulf Stream. Exam tip: spring tides at full and new moon, neap tides in the quarters.

The correct answer is D, Seismograph. A seismograph, also called a seismometer, senses the shaking of the ground and draws it as a wavy line called a seismogram. A heavy mass hangs so that it stays almost still while the frame moves with the earth, and the difference between the two is recorded. From the gap between the arrival of the faster P waves and the slower S waves at three or more stations, scientists work out the epicentre, and from the size of the waves they work out the magnitude. Option A is wrong because a speedometer shows the speed of a vehicle. Option B is wrong because an odometer measures the distance a vehicle has travelled. Option C is wrong because the Richter scale is a scale, not an instrument: it puts a number on the energy of a quake using the readings a seismograph has already made, and each whole step means about 32 times more energy. Exam tip: seismograph records, Richter scale measures magnitude, Mercalli scale measures the damage felt.

The correct answer is B, Venus. Venus is wrapped in a dense blanket of carbon dioxide topped by thick white and yellow clouds of sulphuric acid, which is why it shines so brightly in our sky. Those clouds reflect most of the sunlight that falls on them, giving Venus the highest albedo of any planet and making it the brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. The same blanket traps heat so well that the surface stays near 465 degrees Celsius, hotter than Mercury even though Venus is farther from the Sun. It is called Earth's twin for its similar size and mass, and the morning or evening star for when it is seen. Option A is wrong because Uranus looks blue-green owing to methane in its hydrogen and helium atmosphere. Option C is wrong because Neptune is also a methane-rich ice giant, known for its supersonic winds. Option D is wrong because Mars looks red owing to iron oxide dust and has a very thin atmosphere. Exam tip: Venus - hottest planet, thickest clouds, sulphuric acid, rotates east to west.

The correct answer is C, iii iv i ii. Kalahandi in Odisha is known for the large bauxite deposits of the Eastern Ghats; Zawar near Udaipur in Rajasthan is India’s best-known zinc and lead mine, worked since ancient times; Kolar in Karnataka is famous for the Kolar Gold Fields, among the deepest gold mines in the world until they closed in 2001; and Mosabani in the Singhbhum copper belt of Jharkhand is a major copper mining centre. Paper setters like to pair each mineral with one famous place, so learning one landmark site per mineral pays off quickly. Option A is wrong because it gives gold to Kalahandi and bauxite to Kolar. Option B is wrong because it also gives Kalahandi gold instead of bauxite and Kolar bauxite instead of gold. Option D is wrong because it pairs Zawar with copper and Kolar with zinc and lead. Exam tip: Kalahandi bauxite, Zawar zinc and lead, Kolar gold, Mosabani copper.

The correct answer is C, 1971 and 1981 respectively. A ‘million city’ is a city or urban agglomeration with a population of ten lakh or more. Kanpur, the leather and textile centre on the Ganga once called the ‘Manchester of the East’, crossed this mark in the 1971 Census and became the first million city of Uttar Pradesh. Lucknow, the state capital, followed ten years later in the 1981 Census. The order is worth noting: in those decades the mills and factories drew workers from the countryside, so the industrial city grew faster than the capital. In later censuses more cities of the state, such as Agra, Varanasi, Meerut and Ghaziabad, crossed the mark too. Option A is wrong because in 1951 and 1961 neither city had yet reached ten lakh. Option B is wrong because Kanpur reached the mark in 1971, not 1961, and Lucknow only in 1981. Option D is wrong because both years are ten years too late. Exam tip: Kanpur first (1971), Lucknow next (1981): the mill town crossed ten lakh before the capital.

The correct answer is B, Sutlej. Trans-Himalayan rivers rise beyond the Great Himalaya, on the Tibetan side, and are older than the mountains themselves. As the Himalaya rose, they kept cutting down through it, which is why they flow through deep gorges; geographers call them antecedent rivers. There are three: the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra, all rising near Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar. The Sutlej begins at Rakas Tal in Tibet, enters India through the Shipki La pass in Himachal Pradesh, and is dammed at Bhakra. Option A is wrong because the Jhelum rises at the Verinag spring in the Kashmir valley, south of the Great Himalaya. Option C is wrong because the Ganga begins as the Bhagirathi at the Gangotri glacier inside the Indian Himalaya. Option D is wrong because the Ravi rises near the Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh. Exam tip: the three trans-Himalayan rivers are the Indus, the Sutlej and the Brahmaputra; remember them as the rivers that come from Tibet.

The correct answer is A, Himadri Range. The Himadri, or Greater Himalaya, is part of the Himalayan system, the youngest fold mountains in India, formed as the Indian plate pushed into the Eurasian plate and folded up the sediments of the old Tethys Sea. The uplift began only about 50 million years ago and is still going on, which is why the region has frequent earthquakes. The Himadri is the highest and most continuous range, with an average height of about 6,000 metres and peaks such as Kanchenjunga and Nanda Devi. Within the Himalaya itself, the outer Shiwalik range is the youngest, but it is not among the options. Option B is wrong because the Aravalli is the oldest fold mountain range of India, worn down over hundreds of millions of years. Option C is wrong because the Western Ghats are the raised western edge of the ancient Deccan plateau. Option D is wrong because the Vindhyas are an old range of Peninsular India made of ancient sedimentary rocks. Exam tip: oldest range, Aravalli; youngest, the Himalaya, and within it the Shiwaliks.

The correct answer is D, Kosi - Magadh. Neither the Kosi division nor the Magadh division touches the Ganga, while every other division named in the options does. The Ganga enters Bihar near Chausa in Buxar, where the Karmanasa meets it, and flows west to east, splitting the State into North Bihar and South Bihar. The Kosi division, with Saharsa, Supaul and Madhepura, lies well north of the river and is drained by the Kosi. The Magadh division, with Gaya, Nawada, Aurangabad, Jehanabad and Arwal, lies to the south on the plateau edge and is drained by rivers such as the Phalgu and the Punpun. Option A is wrong because the Ganga touches Samastipur in Darbhanga division and flows past Munger. Option B is wrong because the Ganga flows through Bhagalpur and along Katihar in Purnea division. Option C is wrong because the Ganga touches Vaishali in Tirhut division and Saran district in Saran division. Exam tip: Kosi is north of the Ganga's reach and Magadh is south of it, so neither division sits on the river.

The correct answer is C, West Champaran. Piedmont swamp soil is found only in the north-western part of West Champaran, at the foot of the Someshwar hills. Piedmont means 'at the foot of the mountain': streams coming down the hills slow down on the flat land below, and the ground stays wet and marshy, which gives this soil its name. The same corner of the district holds Valmiki National Park and Someshwar fort, the highest point in Bihar. Just to the east, a strip of Terai soil runs along the Nepal border, while most of the Bihar plain is covered by alluvial soil laid down by the Ganga and its tributaries. Option A is wrong because Madhubani, in the Mithila plain, has alluvial soil with a Terai strip in the north. Option B is wrong because Bhagalpur, on the Ganga in east Bihar, has alluvial soil. Option D is wrong because this soil occurs in only one district. Exam tip: piedmont swamp soil means West Champaran, below the Someshwar hills.

The correct answer is D, Zoji La. Zoji La is the pass on the Srinagar–Leh highway (NH 1) that joins the Kashmir valley with Dras and Ladakh. It sits at about 3,528 metres in the Great Himalayan range and stays snowbound for months every winter, which is why the Zojila tunnel is being built to keep Ladakh connected all year. Kargil and Dras lie just beyond it, so the pass mattered a great deal during the 1999 Kargil conflict. A is wrong because Nathu La is in Sikkim on the border with Tibet (China) and is used for the Kailash Mansarovar route and border trade. B is wrong because Bara-lacha La is in Himachal Pradesh on the Manali–Leh road, not the Srinagar road. C is wrong because Jelep La is also a Sikkim–Tibet pass, close to Nathu La. Exam tip: Srinagar–Leh means Zoji La; Manali–Leh means Rohtang and Bara-lacha La; Sikkim means Nathu La and Jelep La.

The correct answer is A, Zanskar Range. Zoji La, or the Zojila pass, lies in the Zanskar range of the Himalayas at a height of about 3,528 metres. It is on the Srinagar to Leh highway between Sonamarg in the Kashmir valley and Drass in the Kargil district, and it is the gateway to Ladakh. Heavy snow closes it in winter, which is why the Zojila tunnel is being built to keep the route open through the year and give the armed forces year-round access to Ladakh. Option B is wrong because the Ladakh range holds the Khardung La and Chang La passes. Option C is wrong because the eastern Karakoram range holds the Karakoram pass and Saser La on the old trade route to Central Asia. Option D is wrong because the Dhauladhar range runs through Himachal Pradesh above Dharamshala and Kangra. Exam tip: Zoji La in the Zanskar range for Kashmir to Ladakh, Khardung La in the Ladakh range beyond Leh.

The correct answer is B, sedimentary rock. Sandstone forms when grains of sand carried by rivers, wind or waves settle in layers and are cemented together over long periods, which makes it a sedimentary rock. Rocks are of three kinds. Igneous rocks form from cooling magma or lava, sedimentary rocks from the deposition and compaction of sediments, and metamorphic rocks when heat and pressure change an existing rock. Sedimentary rocks often show layers and may hold fossils, and coal and limestone belong to this group. Under heat and pressure sandstone turns into quartzite, limestone into marble and shale into slate. Option A is wrong because non-foliated is a description of texture used for metamorphic rocks such as marble and quartzite, not a class of its own. Option C is wrong because basalt and granite are igneous rocks. Option D is wrong because slate, marble and gneiss are metamorphic rocks. Exam tip: sandstone becomes quartzite, limestone becomes marble, shale becomes slate and granite becomes gneiss.

The correct answer is C, Hiralal Chaudhuri. Hiralal Chaudhuri is called the father of the Blue Revolution, the sharp rise in India's fish production. Working as a fishery scientist, he achieved induced breeding of carp by hormone injection in 1957, a method that freed fish farmers from depending on wild seed collected from rivers and allowed hatcheries to supply fingerlings in large numbers. Aquaculture grew from there, and India is today among the largest fish producers in the world. Option A is wrong because Verghese Kurien led the White Revolution in milk, building the Amul model and Operation Flood. Option B is wrong because Sam Pitroda is linked with the telecom revolution and the spread of public call offices. Option D is wrong because M.S. Swaminathan is the father of the Green Revolution in wheat and rice. Exam tip: learn the colour revolutions together, Green for food grains, White for milk, Blue for fish, Yellow for oilseeds, Pink for prawns and Golden for horticulture.

The correct answer is A, Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar, Pir Panjal, Siwalik. Across Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, the ranges step down from the lofty north to the low foothills in the south. The Karakoram is the northernmost and carries K2 (8,611 m), the highest peak in India, and the Siachen Glacier. South of it runs the Ladakh Range, and the Indus flows through the valley between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges. Further south, the Pir Panjal of the Lesser Himalaya holds the Banihal and Rohtang passes, with the Atal Tunnel cut beneath Rohtang. The Siwalik forms the lowest and youngest outer range. Option B is wrong because it puts the Karakoram fourth, when it is the northernmost. Option C is wrong because it starts with the Pir Panjal, one of the southern ranges. Option D is wrong because it gives the whole order in reverse, from south to north. Exam tip: from the north, "K-L-Z-P-S": Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar, Pir Panjal, Siwalik.

The correct answer is C, Palk Strait – Palk Bay – Gulf of Mannar. Moving south between Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka, you pass the strait first, then the bay, then the gulf. The Palk Strait is the northern channel that links the Bay of Bengal with Palk Bay, between Point Calimere in Tamil Nadu and the Jaffna peninsula of Sri Lanka. Palk Bay is the shallow water body just south of it. It is closed on the south by the chain of Pamban (Rameswaram) Island, Adam's Bridge (Ram Setu) and Mannar Island, and beyond that chain lies the Gulf of Mannar, which opens into the Indian Ocean and is a marine biosphere reserve known for coral reefs and dugongs. Option A is wrong because it starts with the Gulf of Mannar, the southernmost of the three. Option B is wrong because it puts the Gulf of Mannar above Palk Bay. Option D is wrong because Palk Bay lies south of Palk Strait, not north of it. Exam tip: from north to south, strait, bay, Adam's Bridge, then the Gulf of Mannar.