Barren Island, the only active volcano in India, is a part of which island group?
- A.Lakshadweep
- B.Andaman Islands
- C.Nicobar Islands
- D.Gulf of Mannar islands
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, the Andaman Islands. Barren Island lies in the Andaman Sea to the east of Middle Andaman and is the only confirmed active volcano in India; Narcondam, also in the Andaman group, is treated as dormant. Both are part of the volcanic arc produced where the Indian plate dips below the Burma plate. Option A, Lakshadweep, is made of coral atolls built on the submerged Chagos-Laccadive ridge and has no volcanoes at all. Option C, the Nicobar Islands, lie south of the Ten Degree Channel and include Great Nicobar with Indira Point. Option D, the islands of the Gulf of Mannar, are low coral islands off the Tamil Nadu coast and form a biosphere reserve. Barren Island erupted again after a long gap in 1991 and has shown activity several times since, while Narcondam is often offered as the distractor in such questions.
Read the full article: India's Coastline and Maritime Zones: Facts and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhat is the total length of India's coastline, counting the island groups?
- A.About 5,422 kilometres
- B.About 6,100 kilometres
- C.About 7,516 kilometres
- D.About 15,200 kilometres
Show answer
The figure usually quoted is 7,516.6 kilometres, which counts the coast of the mainland together with that of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Read the full explanation →Which Indian State has the longest coastline?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Andhra Pradesh
- C.Tamil Nadu
- D.Maharashtra
Show answer
Its coast runs along the Gulf of Kachchh and the Gulf of Khambhat and around the Kathiawar peninsula, which gives it a far longer shoreline than any other State, and it is followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Read the full explanation →The territorial waters of India extend up to how many nautical miles from the baseline?
- A.12 nautical miles
- B.24 nautical miles
- C.200 nautical miles
- D.350 nautical miles
Show answer
Under the Maritime Zones Act of 1976 the territorial waters extend to twelve nautical miles from the baseline, and within them India has sovereignty over the water, the seabed, the subsoil and the air space, subject only to the right of innocent passage of foreign ships.
Read the full explanation →The exclusive economic zone of a coastal State extends up to
- A.12 nautical miles
- B.24 nautical miles
- C.100 nautical miles
- D.200 nautical miles
Show answer
Within this zone the coastal State has sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving and managing the living and non-living resources of the water, the seabed and the subsoil, and exclusive jurisdiction over artificial islands, marine scientific research and the protection of the marine environment.
Read the full explanation →The Ten Degree Channel separates which two groups of islands?
- A.Andaman and Nicobar groups
- B.Lakshadweep and Minicoy
- C.Minicoy and the Maldives
- D.Great Nicobar and Sumatra
Show answer
The Ten Degree Channel runs roughly along the parallel of ten degrees north and separates Little Andaman in the south of the Andaman group from Car Nicobar in the north of the Nicobar group.
Read the full explanation →