Which of the following is/are cold ocean current/currents ? 1. Alaska Current 2. North Atlantic Drift 3. West Wind Drift Select the answer using the code given below:
- A.1 only
- B.1 and 2
- C.2 and 3
- D.3 only
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, 3 only. Of the three, only the West Wind Drift is a cold current; the Alaska Current and the North Atlantic Drift are warm.
The West Wind Drift, also called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, flows eastward right round Antarctica under the westerlies and carries cold sub-Antarctic water. It is the largest ocean current on Earth. The Alaska Current is the northward branch of the warm North Pacific Current along the coast of Canada and Alaska, keeping its ports ice-free. The North Atlantic Drift is the extension of the Gulf Stream that warms north-west Europe.
A is wrong because the Alaska Current is a warm current.
B is wrong because both the Alaska Current and the North Atlantic Drift are warm.
C is wrong because the North Atlantic Drift is warm, even though the West Wind Drift is cold.
Exam tip: warm currents flow from the equator towards the poles (Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, Alaska); the West Wind Drift, Labrador, Canary and Humboldt are cold.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following rivers was earlier known as "Vitasta" ?
- A.Tista
- B.Jhelum
- C.Tungabhadra
- D.Bharatpuzha A - EDF-F-KJU
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The Jhelum was called the Vitasta in the Rig Veda and in later Sanskrit texts. The rivers of the Punjab region carried Vedic names: Vitasta for the Jhelum, Asikni for the Chenab, Parushni for the Ravi, Vipasha for the Beas and Shutudri for the Satluj.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is NOT a west flowing river ?
- A.Periyar
- B.Bharatpuzha
- C.Pamba
- D.Tamraparni
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The Tamraparni rises in the Agasthyamalai hills of the Western Ghats and flows east through Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi districts of Tamil Nadu into the Gulf of Mannar.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. Distance between the longitudes becomes zero on North Pole and South Pole. 2. Distance between the longitudes is maximum on the Equator. 3. Number of longitudes is more than number of latitudes. Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.1 and 3 only
- D.1,2 and 3
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All three statements are correct. Meridians of longitude are half-circles that run from the North Pole to the South Pole, so they are farthest apart on the Equator, about 111 km per degree, and come closer towards the poles until they meet there, where the gap becomes zero.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements : 1. Areas where rainfall exceeds 250 cm 2. Annual temperature 25°C - 27°C 3. Average humidity exceeds 75% 4. Trees do not shed the leaves To which one of the following types of vegetation does the above represent ?
- A.Tropical wet evergreen
- B.Tropical semi evergreen
- C.Tropical moist deciduous
- D.Tropical dry evergreen
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Very heavy rainfall, high and steady temperature, humidity above 75 per cent and trees that stay green all year are the marks of tropical wet evergreen forests.
Read the full explanation →In shifting cultivation, the ash of the burnt vegetation serves mainly as
- A.A pesticide
- B.A manure that supplies nutrients to the soil
- C.A weedicide that kills the forest roots
- D.A means of levelling the slope
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In slash-and-burn farming the felled trees and undergrowth are dried and burnt on the spot, and the ash left behind is rich in potash and other mineral nutrients, which the cultivator depends on because no chemical fertiliser or farmyard manure is used.
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