Rajasthan Mixed Quiz: Set 3

It lies in the extreme west of the state, farthest from both branches of the south-west monsoon, and parts of the district record under 200 millimetres a year, which is why the sand dunes there are the largest and the most mobile in Rajasthan.

The Luni rises in the Naga hills near Ajmer in the Aravalli, flows south-west through Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer and Jalore and loses itself in the marshes of the Rann of Kachchh in Gujarat.

Keoladeo National Park lies at Bharatpur in eastern Rajasthan. It began as a duck shooting reserve created by Maharaja Suraj Mal of Bharatpur, who built the Ajan Bandh whose waters still flood the shallow marshes, was declared a bird sanctuary and later a national park, entered the Ramsar list in…

It rises in the Shivalik hills near Kalka, enters Rajasthan at Talwara in Hanumangarh district and loses itself in the sands near Suratgarh and Anupgarh, so it never reaches the sea and is called the dead river; its dry bed is known locally as the Nali, and Harappan sites such…

These are the showers of December to February, brought by western disturbances that travel from the Mediterranean across Iran and Pakistan into north-western India, and they are valued because they water the standing rabi crops of wheat, gram, barley and mustard without any cost to the farmer.

The Tropic of Cancer touches Rajasthan only at its southern extremity and crosses Banswara district near Kushalgarh. This is why the state is described as lying almost wholly in the sub-tropical zone, even though it is often grouped with the tropical states of western India.

Sariska lies in the Aravalli hills of Alwar district. It was notified a wildlife sanctuary in 1955 and brought under Project Tiger in 1978, and it earned a place in every exam list when tigers were flown in and released here after the reserve lost its tigers, the first such…

Sambhar lake spreads across the Jaipur and Nagaur districts of Rajasthan and is the largest inland salt-water lake in India, a major source of common salt and a wetland where flamingos gather in winter.

The Tropic of Cancer crosses the southern part of Banswara, the southernmost district of Rajasthan, so the whole of the state except that small corner lies north of the tropic, in the subtropical belt.

The Bisalpur dam stands on the Banas in Tonk district and supplies drinking water to Jaipur, Ajmer, Tonk and the towns between them, which makes it the most important water project of eastern Rajasthan.

The khejri, Prosopis cineraria, is the state tree of Rajasthan. It survives on very little water, its leaves called loong serve as fodder, its pods are eaten as the vegetable sangri, and because it gives shade, fuel and food in the driest tracts it is called the kalpavriksha of the…

Guru Shikhar rises to 1,722 metres on the Abu hills, an outlying block of the Aravalli in Sirohi district, and is the highest point both of Rajasthan and of the whole Aravalli system.

The soil there is formed from the weathering of the basalt of the Deccan trap, so it is clayey, holds moisture well and cracks in summer, and it carries the state's soybean, cotton and wheat.

The Desert National Park covers about 3,162 square kilometres in the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and protects the sand dunes, salt flats and thorn scrub of the Thar along with the great Indian bustard, called godawan locally, which is the state bird of Rajasthan.

The Sitamata sanctuary, spread over Pratapgarh and the neighbouring tracts of southern Rajasthan, is the known home of the Indian flying squirrel, the udan gilahri, and it also carries the best teak and bamboo forest of the state along with the Jakham river.

The Mahi enters Rajasthan from Madhya Pradesh in Banswara district, where it is dammed as the Mahi Bajaj Sagar, a joint project of Rajasthan and Gujarat; the river is called the Ganga of Vagad and receives the Som, the Jakham and the Anas.

The Thar desert and the arid plains west of the Aravalli take up the greater part of Rajasthan, and their soil is overwhelmingly sand, low in nitrogen and organic matter, porous so that water sinks away quickly, but often well supplied with lime and phosphate.

The Desert National Park, spread over Jaisalmer and Barmer, is the largest protected area of Rajasthan and the main surviving habitat of the Great Indian Bustard, called godawan in Rajasthani and the state bird; the Sudasari enclosure within the park is set aside for it, and the Akal wood fossil…

The Central Arid Zone Research Institute was set up at Jodhpur in 1959 and works on sand dune stabilisation, shelter belts, dry farming, desert pasture and the spread of the desert, which is why it is the institute named in questions on the Thar.

Ranthambore lies in Sawai Madhopur district, where the Aravalli meets the Vindhyan plateau.