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GeographyMediumAsked in: UPSC Civil Services · CSE Prelims 2019, GS Paper I

Consider the following pairs: Sea : Bordering country 1. Adriatic Sea : Albania 2. Black Sea : Croatia 3. Caspian Sea : Kazakhstan 4. Mediterranean Sea : Morocco 5. Red Sea : Syria Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

  1. A.1, 2 and 4 only
  2. B.1, 3 and 4 only
  3. C.2 and 5 only
  4. D.1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

Correct answer

B. 1, 3 and 4 only

Explanation

The correct answer is B, 1, 3 and 4 only. Albania lies on the Adriatic, Kazakhstan on the Caspian and Morocco on the Mediterranean.

The Adriatic Sea separates Italy from the Balkan coast of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania. The Caspian, the world's largest inland water body, is bordered by Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Morocco has coasts on both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, on either side of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Pair 2 is wrong: Croatia faces the Adriatic, while the Black Sea is bordered by Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. Pair 5 is wrong: Syria's coast is on the Mediterranean; the Red Sea countries are Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel and Jordan.

So A is wrong because it includes pair 2, C is wrong because both its pairs are false, and D is wrong because pairs 2 and 5 are false.

Exam tip: Black Sea six = Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia; Caspian five = Kazakhstan, Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan.

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Q3.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2026, GKMedium

Consider the following statements with reference to earthquakes:

1. Collapse earthquakes are most common.

2. Tsunamis are waves generated by the tremors and not an earthquake in itself.

3. High magnitude earthquakes i.e. 8+ are quite rare whereas 'tiny' types occur almost every minute.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.1 and 3 only
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Correct answer: C. 2 and 3 only

Statement 1 is false because tectonic earthquakes, not collapse earthquakes, are the most common type. Earthquakes are grouped by cause: tectonic (sliding of rocks along a fault), volcanic, collapse (the roofs of underground mines or caverns falling in), explosion (from nuclear or chemical blasts) and reservoir-induced.

Q4.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-II 2016, GKMedium

With reference to earthquakes, which of the following statements are correct?

1. Earthquakes largely occur along the converging plate boundaries.

2. Point of origin of earthquake in lithosphere is known as focus/hypocentre.

3. Intensity of earthquake decreases with distance from the epicentre.

4. Epicentre of earthquake always remains over continents only.

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

  1. A.1 and 2 only
  2. B.1, 2 and 3
  3. C.2 and 3 only
  4. D.1 and 4
Show answer
Correct answer: B. 1, 2 and 3

The first three statements are true, while statement 4 is false because many earthquakes have their epicentre under the sea.