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
What does BW stand for as per the Koeppen climate classification?
In Koeppen's scheme B marks dry climates, and the letter W, from the German Wüste meaning desert, marks the driest of them.
Read the full explanation →Which peninsular river has a tributary named Kabini?
The Kabini rises in the Wayanad district of Kerala and flows into Karnataka, where it joins the Kaveri near Tirumakudalu Narasipura.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is found in appreciable amount in Laterite soil in India ?
Indian laterite soils are poor in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphate and calcium, while iron oxide and potash are present in excess.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following tributaries is/are correctly matched with the Deccan Rivers ?
Tributary — River
1. Bhavani — Krishna
2. Kabini — Kaveri
3. Manjra — Godavari
4. Bhima — Mahanadi
Select the answer using the code given below:
The Kabini is a tributary of the Kaveri and the Manjra is a tributary of the Godavari, so only pairs 2 and 3 are correct.
Read the full explanation →How can one determine the relative humidity on a particular day at a given place?
Relative humidity compares the water vapour actually present in the air with the most the air could hold at that temperature, so both figures are needed.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following states is/are part of the Ganga Basin ? 1. Chhattisgarh 2. Himachal Pradesh 3. Rajasthan Select the answer using the code given below :
Parts of all three states drain into the Ganga through its tributaries. The Ganga basin is the largest river basin of India, covering about a quarter of the country's area.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements regarding S-waves is not correct ?
S-waves are not less destructive; their side-to-side shaking does more damage to buildings and overpasses than P-waves do. S-waves, or secondary waves, are transverse body waves: they move the ground at right angles to the direction in which they travel.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is/are east flowing rivers in India? 1. Palar 2. Periyar 3. Pennar 4. Kalinadi Select the answer using the code given below:
The Palar and the Pennar rise on the Karnataka plateau and flow east into the Bay of Bengal, while the Periyar and the Kalinadi flow west into the Arabian Sea.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements regarding insolation is/are correct? 1. Insolation is predominantly short-wave radiation, with wavelengths in the range of 0.39 micrometre to 0.76 micrometre. 2. Insolation is evenly distributed across the Earth because of the Earth's curved surface. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Insolation, the incoming solar radiation, arrives mainly as short waves centred on visible light, but the Earth's curved surface spreads it unevenly, so statement 2 is false.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements regarding Arc Volcanoes is/are correct ? 1. Arc volcanoes are found near divergent plate boundaries. 2. Some of the world's classical examples of cone-shaped stratovolcanoes, such as Mount Fuji in Japan, Mayon in the Philippines are Arc volcanoes. 3. Some of the highest volcanoes on Earth are of the Arc type, notably Nevado Ojos del Salado in the Chilean Andes. Select the answer using the code given below :
Arc volcanoes form above subduction zones at convergent plate boundaries, not at divergent ones, so statement 1 is false while 2 and 3 are true.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not an example of chemical weathering ?
It is a form of physical, or mechanical, weathering: the rock breaks into pieces but its chemical make-up does not change.
Read the full explanation →How is strong pressure gradient represented on a weather map?
Isobars are lines on a weather map joining places that have the same atmospheric pressure, reduced to sea level. The pressure gradient is the rate at which pressure changes over a horizontal distance.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. Ocean currents are dominated by huge surface gyres that are driven by the global surface wind pattern. 2. Equatorial currents move cold water westward and then poleward along the east coasts of continents. With regard to the statements given above, which of the following is correct ?
The surface circulation of the oceans is organised into huge, roughly circular loops called gyres, one in each major ocean basin.
Read the full explanation →Which kind of mass wasting processes are commonly associated with creep ?
Mass wasting, or mass movement, is the downslope movement of rock and soil under the direct pull of gravity, without a carrying agent such as running water or wind.
Read the full explanation →Eratosthenes, a Greek philosopher measured the Earth's circumference based on the angle of Sun rays at two different points. Which cities were they ?
Around 240 BC Eratosthenes, the librarian of Alexandria in Egypt, learnt that at noon on the summer solstice the Sun shone straight down a well at Syene (modern Aswan), so it was directly overhead there.
Read the full explanation →Cumulonimbus clouds develop from which among the following clouds?
A cumulonimbus cloud is the final stage of a growing cumulus cloud. On a hot day, rising warm air forms small fair-weather cumulus.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements regarding transportation functions associated with important ports : 1. Singapore functions both as a port of call and an entrepot. 2. Karwar in India is an example of a naval port. 3. Dover in England is an example of an outport. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Singapore is both a port of call and an entrepot, and Karwar is a naval port, but Dover is a ferry port, not an outport.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements regarding the rivers of India : 1. The Barak River, the head stream of the Meghna, rises in the hills of Meghalaya. 2. The Ghaggar River does not drain out to the sea and gets lost in the Rajasthan desert. 3. Puthimari and Manas are important tributaries of the Brahmaputra. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
The Barak rises in the hills of Manipur, not Meghalaya, so statement 1 is false, while the other two statements are true.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following statements regarding tropical cyclones is/are correct ? 1. These storms develop during the summer and autumn in every tropical ocean except the South Atlantic and eastern South Pacific Oceans. 2. Tropical cyclones that occur in the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific Oceans are known as typhoons. 3. Tropical cyclones that occur in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans are called cyclones. Select the answer using the code given below :
Tropical cyclones of the North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific are called hurricanes, not typhoons, so statement 2 is wrong.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following pairs of Himalayan Glaciers and their location is/are correctly matched?
1. Siachen - Nubra Valley Region
2. Chungphar - Kumaon-Garhwal Region
3. Zemu - Central Nepal Region
4. Gasherbrum - Pir Panjal Range
Select the answer using the code given below :
Only the Siachen pair is correct. The Siachen Glacier, about 76 km long, lies in the eastern Karakoram, and its meltwater gives rise to the Nubra river, which joins the Shyok; the Nubra Valley of Ladakh lies below its snout, so the glacier belongs to the Nubra Valley region.
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