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GeographyHardAsked in: NDA · NDA-I 2019, GAT

"Inversion of Rainfall" is associated with

  1. A.Orographic rainfall
  2. B.Convectional rainfall
  3. C.Cyclonic rainfall (Tropical)
  4. D.Cyclonic rainfall (Temperate)

Correct answer

A. Orographic rainfall

Explanation

The correct answer is A, Orographic rainfall. On a mountain slope, rainfall increases with height only up to a certain level and then decreases above it; this is called the inversion of rainfall.

Orographic or relief rain falls when moist winds are forced up a mountain barrier, cool, and drop their moisture on the windward side. As the air keeps rising, it loses more and more of its water vapour, so beyond a certain height there is less moisture left to fall as rain. The zone of heaviest rain therefore lies partway up the slope, not at the summit. The Himalayas and the Western Ghats show this pattern, and the leeward side lies in a rain shadow.

B is wrong because convectional rain comes from local surface heating and rising air, mainly in equatorial regions, not from relief.

C is wrong because tropical cyclonic rain comes from intense low-pressure storms over warm seas.

D is wrong because temperate cyclonic rain falls along warm and cold fronts where air masses meet.

Exam tip: orographic rain – windward slope wet, leeward slope in rain shadow; rain peaks partway up the slope (inversion of rainfall).

Practice Questions

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Q1.GeographyAsked in: CDS · CDS-I 2018, GKHard

Statement I : Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth.

Statement II : The Earth rotates from west to east.

  1. A.Both the statements are individually true and Statement II is the correct explanation of Statement I
  2. B.Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I
  3. C.Statement I is true but Statement II is false
  4. D.Statement I is false but Statement II is true
Show answer
Correct answer: B. Both the statements are individually true but Statement II is not the correct explanation of Statement I

Both statements are true, but the direction in which the Earth spins does not explain why tides occur. Tides are caused mainly by the Moon's pull, with the Sun adding a smaller pull; the Moon's tide-raising force is roughly twice the Sun's because it is so much closer.

Q3.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. Many of the world's largest mountain chains exist beneath the sea.

2. Some mountain chains are revealed as island arcs.

3. The mid-oceanic ridges form the longest mountain chains.

4. The mid-Atlantic ridge rises thirty-three metres above the floor of the Atlantic.

Which of the statements given above are correct ?

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

Statement 4 is wrong: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge rises thousands of metres above the ocean floor, not thirty-three metres. The ocean floor has relief as varied as the land.

Q5.GeographyAsked in: UPSC CAPF · CAPF 2023, Paper IMedium

Consider the following statements :

1. The Great Northern Plains are formed by basins of three distinct river systems - the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

2. They are one of the most densely populated areas on Earth.

3. Between the Yamuna at Delhi and the Bay of Bengal, nearly 1600 km away, there is a drop of only 200 metres in elevation.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

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

All three statements correctly describe the Northern Plains of India. The Northern Plains were built from alluvium laid down by the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra and their tributaries, which together drain the Himalayas.