Why does the Aravalli Range fail to cause rainfall from the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon in western Rajasthan?
- A.Because it is too far from the sea
- B.Because it lies parallel to the direction of those winds
- C.Because it is covered with sand dunes
- D.Because the winds reach it only in winter
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, because it lies parallel to the direction of those winds. The Aravalli trends from south-west to north-east, which is roughly the direction in which the Arabian Sea branch of the monsoon travels. A range can wring rain out of moist winds only when it stands across their path and forces them to rise and cool; lying along the path, the Aravalli lets the winds pass without lifting them, so they carry their moisture away and the land to the west stays dry. This is the standard explanation for the Thar in Indian geography.
Option A is wrong because distance from the sea is not the deciding factor; the desert begins only a few hundred kilometres inland. Option C reverses cause and effect, since the dunes are the result of aridity and not its cause. Option D is simply untrue: the monsoon reaches Rajasthan in summer, and the little rain the west receives falls in those months.
Read the full article: Aravalli Range and Thar Desert: Peaks, Passes and Dunes
Practice Questions
View allGuru Shikhar, the highest peak of the Aravalli Range, lies in which district of Rajasthan?
- A.Udaipur
- B.Sirohi
- C.Rajsamand
- D.Ajmer
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Guru Shikhar stands on Mount Abu in Sirohi district and, at 1,722 metres, is the highest point of the Aravalli Range and of Rajasthan.
Read the full explanation →The Aravalli Range is an example of which type of mountains?
- A.Young fold mountains
- B.The oldest fold mountains of India
- C.Block mountains formed by faulting
- D.Volcanic mountains
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The Aravalli was folded in Precambrian times, long before the Himalaya existed, and hundreds of millions of years of erosion have worn it down to a chain of residual hills whose rocks carry zinc, lead, copper and marble.
Read the full explanation →The Luni river of Rajasthan rises near Ajmer and finally drains into
- A.The Arabian Sea at Kutch's Gulf
- B.The Rann of Kachchh
- C.The Chambal river
- D.The Sambhar lake
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The Luni rises in the Naga hills near Ajmer in the Aravalli, flows south-west through Pali, Jodhpur, Barmer and Jalore and loses itself in the marshes of the Rann of Kachchh in Gujarat.
Read the full explanation →Sambhar, the largest inland salt lake of India, lies in which state?
- A.Gujarat
- B.Rajasthan
- C.Haryana
- D.Madhya Pradesh
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Sambhar lake spreads across the Jaipur and Nagaur districts of Rajasthan and is the largest inland salt-water lake in India, a major source of common salt and a wetland where flamingos gather in winter.
Read the full explanation →The Desert National Park, known for the great Indian bustard, is spread over which districts of Rajasthan?
- A.Jodhpur and Pali
- B.Jaisalmer and Barmer
- C.Bikaner and Churu
- D.Nagaur and Jalore
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The Desert National Park covers about 3,162 square kilometres in the Jaisalmer and Barmer districts and protects the sand dunes, salt flats and thorn scrub of the Thar along with the great Indian bustard, called godawan locally, which is the state bird of Rajasthan.
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