Geography Mixed Quiz: Set 18

The correct answer is C, 1 June. The south-west monsoon normally sets in over the Kerala coast about the first of June, and the sudden heavy downpour that marks its arrival is called the burst of the monsoon. From Kerala it advances in two branches, one over the Arabian Sea and one over the Bay of Bengal, covering Mumbai by about the tenth of June and the whole country by about the middle of July.

Option A, the first of April, falls in the hot weather season when the land is only beginning to heat. Option B, the first of May, is still the season of pre-monsoon showers such as mango showers and Kal Baisakhi. Option D, the first of July, is far too late, because by then the monsoon has already covered most of the country and the plains are in full rain.

The correct answer is C, Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest. Tropical dry deciduous forest covers the largest share of India's forest area. It grows in the wide belt that gets roughly 70 to 100 cm of rain a year — much of the peninsular plateau, central India, the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats and parts of the plains — and its trees, teak, sal, sandalwood, bamboo, khair and axlewood, shed their leaves in the dry months to save water. These forests are the most used for timber and were the most cleared for cultivation. Option A, tropical dry evergreen forest, is confined to a narrow strip along the Coromandel coast of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Option B, tropical semi evergreen forest, lies on the wetter margins of the Western Ghats, in the north east and in the Andamans. Option D, Himalayan moist temperate forest, is a mountain type between about 1,500 and 3,000 metres, with oak, deodar and pine. Exam tip: rainfall decides the type — above 200 cm evergreen, 100 to 200 cm moist deciduous, 70 to 100 cm dry deciduous.

The correct answer is A. Spring tides occur at new moon and at full moon, when the sun, the earth and the moon lie in a straight line, a position called syzygy. The gravitational pulls of the sun and the moon then act along the same line and reinforce each other, so the high tides are unusually high and the low tides unusually low. Spring tides therefore come twice in a lunar month.

Option B describes the position at the first and third quarter, called quadrature, when the two pulls partly cancel and produce the weakest tides of the month, the neap tides. Option C, the moon at apogee, makes tides slightly weaker rather than stronger, since the moon's pull falls off with distance. Option D is the common trap: the word spring here means to leap up, and the tide has nothing to do with the spring season.

The correct answer is C, A is true, but R is false. Iron and steel is indeed a heavy industry, but not because of light raw materials.

Industries are classified by the weight of the material they handle. A heavy industry uses bulky, heavy raw materials and turns out bulky products, so iron and steel, which consumes iron ore, coking coal, limestone, dolomite and manganese by the tonne, is the classic example. A light industry uses light raw materials and gives light finished goods, and it is here that cotton, rubber, silk and electronics belong. That is why the reason given is false: cotton and rubber are never the inputs of an iron and steel plant.

A is wrong as a choice because the reason is false. B is wrong for the same reason. D is wrong because the assertion about iron and steel being a heavy industry is perfectly true.

Exam tip: Heavy industry - iron and steel, cement, shipbuilding; light industry - cotton textiles, electronics, rubber goods.

The correct answer is A, Mawsynram in Meghalaya. Mawsynram lies in the Khasi hills, and the neighbouring Cherrapunji, now called Sohra, stands close behind it. The Bay of Bengal branch of the monsoon is funnelled into the wedge shaped valleys of these hills and is forced to rise sharply, so the moisture is wrung out of it and the rainfall is the heaviest recorded in the country.

Option B, Agumbe in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, is called the Cherrapunji of the south and is very wet, but it receives less than Mawsynram. Option C, Amboli in Maharashtra, is another heavy rainfall station of the Ghats but stands lower still. Option D, Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, records high rainfall on the Himalayan foothills without reaching the Khasi hills figures.

The correct answer is C, Mexico. Milpa is the name given to shifting cultivation in Mexico and in the neighbouring parts of Central America, where maize, beans and squash are grown together on a patch cleared from the forest. In shifting cultivation a plot is cleared by cutting and burning the trees, cropped for two or three years until the ash-fed soil loses its fertility, and then left fallow while the farmer moves to a fresh patch. Because the same practice grew up in forest belts across the world, it carries a different local name in each region. A is wrong because in India it is called jhum in the north-east, podu in Andhra Pradesh and bewar or dahiya in Madhya Pradesh. B is wrong because in Malaysia and Indonesia it is known as ladang. D is wrong because in Brazil it is called roca or coivara. Exam tip: milpa in Mexico, ladang in Malaysia, roca in Brazil, chena in Sri Lanka and jhum in north-east India.

The correct answer is B, the Bay of Fundy, which lies between the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The bay narrows and shallows inland, so the incoming tidal wave is funnelled into a smaller and smaller cross-section and its height is greatly magnified, giving the greatest difference between high and low water anywhere on earth. Shape, not size, is what produces a large tidal range.

Option A, the Gulf of Mexico, is wide and almost enclosed, and much of it has only a very small daily tide. Option C, the Persian Gulf, is shallow and nearly landlocked, so the tidal wave entering through the narrow Strait of Hormuz remains modest. Option D, the Gulf of Aden, opens into the Arabian Sea without any funnelling shape. In India the largest ranges are found in the funnel-shaped Gulf of Khambhat and Gulf of Kachchh.

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, Kal Baisakhi. These are the violent evening thunderstorms of the months before the monsoon in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam, and the name means the calamity of the month of Baisakh because the squalls can flatten huts and trees. They are also called Norwesters from the direction they come from, and in Assam the same showers are called Bardoli Chheerha. Their rain is useful for tea, jute and rice.

Option A, the loo, is not a storm at all but a hot, dry wind that blows over the northern plains in the afternoons of May and June. Option C, mango showers, are pre-monsoon showers of Kerala and coastal Karnataka that help mangoes ripen. Option D, blossom showers, are the pre-monsoon showers of Karnataka that help coffee to flower.

The correct answer is A, Dang. Dang is not a South Indian tribe. The name belongs to the Dangs district of southern Gujarat, whose tribal people are mainly Bhil, Warli and Konkana, all of western India. The other three are communities of the Nilgiri hills, where Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka meet. The Toda are pastoralists known for their barrel-shaped huts and their buffalo-centred rituals. The Badaga are farmers of the Nilgiri plateau who speak a tongue close to Kannada. The Irula, a Scheduled Tribe of Tamil Nadu, are known for snake catching and for collecting forest produce. Option B is wrong because the Toda are the best known tribe of the Nilgiris. Option C is wrong because the Badaga live on the same plateau, around Udhagamandalam. Option D is wrong because the Irula are spread across Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Exam tip: remember Toda, Kota, Kurumba, Badaga and Irula as the five main Nilgiri tribes, and place Bhil, Warli and the Dangs in Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The correct answer is C, the Benguela current. It flows northward along the western coast of southern Africa, carrying cool water from the Southern Ocean towards the equator, and the upwelling along it makes the Namibian coast a rich fishing zone while helping to keep the Namib desert dry. The simple rule is that a current moving from the poles towards the equator is cold.

Option A, the Gulf Stream, carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico north-east across the Atlantic and is the classic warm current. Option B, the Kuroshio, is the warm current of the western Pacific that flows north past Japan and is sometimes called the Japan current. Option D, the Brazil current, is a warm current flowing south along the eastern coast of South America. All three move away from the equator and so carry warm water.

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 C, western disturbances. These are low pressure systems, that is temperate cyclones, which form over the Mediterranean and the Caspian region and travel eastwards with the westerly jet stream. On reaching north-west India in winter they give light rain in the plains, called mahawat, and snow in the western Himalaya. This small amount of rain is very valuable for the rabi crop, above all for wheat.

Option A, the retreating monsoon, gives its rain to Tamil Nadu and the south-eastern coast in October to December. Option B, the tropical cyclones of the Bay of Bengal, strike the eastern coast, mainly in the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon months. Option D, the Arabian Sea branch, belongs to the summer monsoon and brings no winter rain at all.

The correct answer is A, Red Sindhi. Red Sindhi is an indigenous Indian dairy breed of cattle, while the other three are Indian dog breeds.

Red Sindhi cattle take their name from the Sindh region and are reddish-brown, hardy and able to bear heat, which is why they have been used to improve milk yield in many tropical countries. Sahiwal, Gir, Tharparkar and Deoni are the other well-known indigenous milch breeds, while Amritmahal, Hallikar and Kangayam are draught breeds. Under the Rashtriya Gokul Mission the government works to conserve and develop such native breeds.

B is wrong: Chippiparai is a sight hound dog breed of Tamil Nadu. C is wrong: Kanni is also a dog breed from southern Tamil Nadu. D is wrong: Kombai is a Tamil Nadu hunting dog breed, not cattle.

Exam tip: Indigenous milch cattle - Red Sindhi, Sahiwal, Gir, Tharparkar, Deoni; Chippiparai, Kanni and Kombai are dog breeds.

The correct answer is B, the Gulf Stream and the Labrador current. The warm Gulf Stream moving north-east meets the cold Labrador current coming south past Newfoundland. Nutrients carried by the cold water mix with the warmer surface layer, plankton multiplies, and huge shoals of cod once gathered there. The same meeting cools moist air abruptly and makes the Grand Banks one of the foggiest places at sea.

Option A, the Kuroshio and Oyashio, do meet and create an equally famous fishery, but that is off Hokkaido in Japan, not Newfoundland. Option C, the Canary and Benguela currents, are both cold, flow along African coasts thousands of kilometres apart and never meet. Option D pairs a South American current with an Australian one lying in different oceans, so no meeting is possible.

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, the Pacific Ocean. El Nino is the periodic warming of the surface water of the central and eastern Pacific off the coast of Peru and Ecuador, and the name, meaning the child, was given by fishermen because it appears around Christmas. The warm water shifts the belt of rising air and rainfall eastwards, away from the Indian region, so an El Nino year is often a year of deficient monsoon rainfall in India. La Nina is the opposite phase, with cooler than normal water, and usually goes with a good monsoon.

Options A, C and D name the wrong oceans. The Indian Ocean has its own pattern, the Indian Ocean Dipole, which also affects the monsoon, but El Nino is a Pacific phenomenon.

The correct answer is C, about 35 parts per thousand, which means roughly thirty-five grams of dissolved salt in every kilogram of sea water. Sodium chloride makes up most of it, with magnesium, calcium and potassium salts making up the rest. Salinity varies with evaporation, rainfall, river inflow and the melting or freezing of ice, so the figure is an average rather than a fixed value.

Option A, 15 parts per thousand, is closer to brackish water in an estuary or to the low-salinity Baltic Sea, where many rivers pour in fresh water. Option B, 25 parts per thousand, is still well below the open ocean figure. Option D, 45 parts per thousand, is higher than any open ocean value; even the Red Sea, the most saline of the open seas, stays near the low forties, and only enclosed lakes such as the Dead Sea go far above that.

The correct answer is C, the Mariana Trench, which lies in the western Pacific east of the Mariana Islands. Its southern end holds the Challenger Deep, the deepest surveyed point on earth at roughly eleven kilometres below sea level, deep enough to swallow Mount Everest with water to spare. Trenches like it form where one oceanic plate is being pushed down beneath another, which is why they run beside volcanic island arcs.

Option A, the Puerto Rico Trench, is the deepest point of the Atlantic but is far shallower than the Mariana. Option B, the Java or Sunda Trench, is the deepest part of the Indian Ocean and lies south of Indonesia. Option D, the Tonga Trench, is in the south Pacific and is among the deepest in the world, yet its greatest depth is still less than that of the Challenger Deep.

The correct answer is B. The continental shelf is the gently sloping submerged edge of a continent, usually taken down to about two hundred metres. Because it is shallow, sunlight penetrates to the sea bed and supports abundant plankton, and rivers add nutrients from the land as well. Fish gather where plankton is plentiful, so almost all the world's major fishing grounds, and most offshore petroleum, lie on continental shelves.

Option A is wrong because the deepest parts of the ocean are the trenches, which lie far beyond the shelf and are dark and nearly lifeless by comparison. Option C is wrong because the shelf usually has slightly lower salinity than the open ocean, since rivers dilute it. Option D is wrong as well: currents and upwelling reach shelf waters constantly, and in fact the upwelling of nutrients along some shelves is exactly what makes them so productive.