An avalanche is a type of which one of the following disasters ?
- A.Atmospheric
- B.Terrestrial
- C.Aquatic
- D.Biological
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Terrestrial. An avalanche is a sudden slide of snow, ice and debris down a mountain slope, a movement of material on the land surface, so it is grouped with terrestrial disasters.
Natural disasters are commonly classified into four groups. Atmospheric disasters include blizzards, thunderstorms, lightning, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, droughts, hailstorms and heat and cold waves. Terrestrial disasters include earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, avalanches, subsidence and soil erosion. Aquatic disasters include floods, tidal waves, ocean currents, storm surges and tsunamis. Biological disasters include plant and animal colonisers such as locusts, insect infestations, and epidemics among people and animals. In India, avalanches threaten parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Sikkim.
A is wrong because atmospheric disasters arise from weather processes such as storms and cyclones. C is wrong because aquatic disasters involve water bodies, as with floods and tsunamis. D is wrong because biological disasters are caused by living organisms, such as epidemics and locust swarms.
Exam tip: Terrestrial disasters: earthquake, volcano, landslide, avalanche, subsidence, soil erosion.
Practice Questions
View allWeathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation are indicators of which one of the following processes?
- A.Denudation
- B.Endogenetic process
- C.Diastrophism
- D.Mountain building
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Weathering, mass wasting, erosion and transportation together wear down and strip away the earth's surface, and this combined work is called denudation.
Read the full explanation →The activities or services focussed on creation, rearrangement and interpretation of new and existing ideas are referred to as
- A.quaternary activities
- B.quinary activities
- C.tertiary activities
- D.secondary activities
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Services that create, rearrange and interpret new and existing ideas, interpret data and evaluate new technologies are classed as quinary activities.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements :
1. Rocks do not remain in their original form for long and undergo transformation.
2. Transformation of rocks is caused by weathering, erosion and metamorphic action.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
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Rocks are constantly changed from one form to another, and the agents of that change are weathering, erosion and metamorphism, which together make up the rock cycle.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is not a mountain peak of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands?
- A.Saddle Peak
- B.Mount Thuillier
- C.Lhotse Peak
- D.Mount Diavolo
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Lhotse is not in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at all; it is a Himalayan peak on the border of Nepal and Tibet, just south of Mount Everest, and at about 8,516 metres it is the fourth-highest mountain in the world.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following Indian States has the longest coastline?
- A.Tamil Nadu
- B.Gujarat
- C.Maharashtra
- D.Andhra Pradesh
Show answer
Gujarat has the longest coastline of any Indian state. Its coast runs from the Rann of Kachchh in the north, around the Gulf of Kachchh and the Saurashtra (Kathiawar) peninsula, into the Gulf of Khambhat and down to the border with Maharashtra near Daman.
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