• Explanation:

(D)

• This type of climate is found on the eastern margins of continents in warm temperate latitudes, just outside the tropics.
• It has comparatively more rainfall than the Mediterranean climate in the same latitudes, coming mainly in the summer.
• It is, in fact, the climate of most parts of China –a modified form of monsoonal climate.
• It is thus also called the Temperate Monsoon or China Type of climate.
• Climatic Condition: Warm moist summer and a cool, dry winter.
• The mean monthly temperature varies between 5°C and 25°C and is strongly modified by maritime influence.
• The relative humidity is a little high in mid-summer. Rainfall is more than moderate, anything from 25 inches to 60 inches.
• Another important feature is the fairly uniform distribution of rainfall throughout the year.
• There is rain every month, except in the interior of central China, where there is a distinct dry season.

• Explanation:

(A)

• Magma is extremely hot liquid and semi-liquid rock located under Earth’s surface.
• Earth has a layered structure that consists of the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust.
• Much of the planet’s mantle consists of magma.
• This magma can push through holes or cracks in the crust, causing a volcanic eruption.
• When magma flows or erupts onto Earth’s surface, it is called lava. Like solid rock, magma is a mixture of minerals.
• It also contains small amounts of dissolved gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur.
• The high temperatures and pressure under Earth’s crust keep magma in its fluid state.

• Explanation:

(B)

• Earth has 4 layers:
• The outer crust that we live on
• The plastic-like mantle
• The liquid outer core
• The solid inner core
• The crust is by far the thinnest of the layers of earth.
• The thickness varies depending on where you are on earth, with oceanic crust being 5-10 km and continental mountain ranges being up to 30-45 km thick.

Thin oceanic crust is denser than the thicker continental crust and therefore 'floats' lower in the mantle as compared to continental crust.

• Explanation:

(C)

• The most abundant elements in the Earth’s crust include (listed here by weight percent) oxygen, silicon, aluminium, iron, and calcium.
• All three rock types (igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic) can be found in Earth’s crust.
• The oldest rocks on our planet are part of the continental crust and date back approximately 4 billion years in age.
• Ocean crust is constantly recycled through our planet’s system of plate tectonics and only dates back to approximately 200 million years ago.

• Explanation:

(C)

• Direct Sources:
• The most easily available solid earth material is surface rock or the rocks we get from mining areas.
• Besides mining, scientists have taken up a number of projects to penetrate deeper depths to explore the conditions in the crustal portions.
• Many deep drilling projects have provided large volume of information through the analysis of materials collected at different depths.
• Volcanic eruption forms another source of obtaining direct information.

• Indirect Sources:
• Another source of information are the meteors that at times reach the earth.
• The other indirect sources include gravitation, magnetic field, and seismic activity.

• Explanation:

(A)

• The portion of the interior beyond the crust is called the mantle.
• It has a density higher than the crust’s (3.4 g/cm3).
• The outer core of Earth is in liquid state while the inner core is in solid state.
• The core is made up of very heavy material mostly constituted by nickel and iron.
• It is sometimes referred to as the knife layer.

• Solution:

(B)

• The term karst describes a distinctive topography that indicates dissolution (also called chemical solution) of underlying soluble rocks by surface water or ground water.
• Although commonly associated with carbonate rocks (limestone and dolomite) other highly soluble rocks such as evaporates (gypsum and rock salt) can be sculpted into karst terrain.
• Understanding caves and karst is important because ten percent of the Earth’s surface is occupied by karst landscape and as much as a quarter of the world’s population depends upon water supplied from karst areas.
• Though most abundant in humid regions where carbonate rock is present, karst terrain occurs in temperate, tropical, alpine and polar environments.

• Explanation:

(C)

• Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water.
• They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation, lack of a substantial regolith, and high drainage density.

They can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, buttes, mesas, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in Badlands.

• Explanation:

(C)

• Moraines are accumulations of dirt and rocks that have fallen onto the glacier surface or have been pushed along by the glacier as it moves.
• The dirt and rocks composing moraines can range in size from powdery silt to large rocks and boulders.
• A receding glacier can leave behind moraines that are visible long after the glacier retreats.
• Loess consists of tiny mineral particles brought by wind to the places where they now lie.
• It is a product of past glacial activity in an area. It is a sedimentary deposit of mineral particles which are finer than sand but coarser than dust or clay, deposited by the wind.
• Loess is a type of silt which forms fertile topsoil in some parts of the world.

• Explanation:

(B)

• Deltas are the most likely to have the lowest mean elevation among the given options.

• Explanation:

(D)

• The lithosphere is broken into a number of plates known as the Lithospheric plates.
• You will be surprised to know that these plates move around very slowly – just a few millimetres each year.
• This is because of the movement of the molten magma inside the earth.

• Solution:

(A)

• The rocks equidistant on either side of the crest of mid-oceanic ridges show remarkable similarities in terms of period of formation, chemical compositions and magnetic properties.
• Rocks closer to the mid-oceanic ridges have normal polarity and are the youngest.
• The age of the rocks increases as one moves away from the crest.

• Explanation:

(B)

• The earth movements are divided on the basis of the forces which cause them.
• The forces which act in the interior of the earth are called as Endogenic forces and the forces that work on the surface of the earth are called as Exogenic forces.

A solar day is nearly 4 minutes longer than a sidereal day. The mean solar day at present is 86400.002 seconds, It was 86400 in 1820

• Explanation:

(D)

• Evidence in Support of the Continental Drift:

• The Matching of Continents (Jig-Saw-Fit): The shorelines of Africa and South America facing each other have a remarkable and unmistakable match.
• Rocks of Same Age Across the Oceans: The belt of ancient rocks of 2,000 million years from Brazil coast matches with those from western Africa.

• Tillite: It is the sedimentary rock formed out of deposits of glaciers.
• The Gondwana system of sediments from India is known to have its counter parts in six different landmasses of the Southern Hemisphere.
• Overall resemblance of the Gondwana type sediments clearly demonstrates that these landmasses had remarkably similar histories.

• Placer Deposits: The occurrence of rich placer deposits of gold in the Ghana coast and the absolute absence of source rock in the region is an amazing fact.
• The gold bearing veins are in Brazil and it is obvious that the gold deposits of the Ghana are derived from the Brazil plateau when the two continents lay side by side.

• Explanation:

(C)

• The Major Elements of the Earth’s Crust: Elements byWeight (%):

• Oxygen à60 %
• Silicon à72 %
• Aluminum à13 %
• Iron 5.00 %
• Calcium à63 %
• Sodium à83 %
• Potassium à59 %
• Magnesium à09 %
• Others à41 %

• Explanation:

(A)

• More fresh water can be found in the atmosphere than in the rivers on earth.
• Rivers on earth contain less fresh water than Inland seas and salt lakes.

Ice-caps contain more fresh water than the fresh water available in the groundwater

• Explanation:

(D)

• The oceans below the photic zone are a vast space, largely dependent on food from photosynthetic primary producers living in the sunlit waters above.
• This is because phytoplankton’s (primary production) require abundant sunlight and nutrients to grow well.

• Explanation:

(A)

• The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Odisha, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.
• The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the basin of the Mahanadi River lies to the south.
• The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a continental plateau—an extensive area of land thrust above the general land.
• The plateau has been formed by continental uplift from forces acting deep inside the earth.
• The Damodar River flows through Chota Nagpur Plateau.

• Explanation:

(C)

• Only Kanchenjunga and Nanda Devi peaks of Himalayas are located in India.

• Explanation:

(D)

• The northern boundary of the Peninsular Block may be taken as an irregular line running from Kachchh along the western flank of the Aravali Range near Delhi and then roughly parallel to the Yamuna and the Ganga as far as the Rajmahal Hills and the Ganga delta.
• Apart from these, the Karbi Anglong and the Meghalaya Plateau in the northeast and Rajasthan in the west are also extensions of this block.
• The north eastern parts are separated by the Malda fault in West Bengal from the Chotanagpur plateau.

In Rajasthan, the desert and other desert–like features overlay this block.

• Explanation:

(C)

• The Indian plate includes Peninsular India and the Australian continental portions.
• The subduction zone along the Himalayas forms the northern plate boundary in the form of continent— continent convergence.
• In the east, it extends through Rakinyoma Mountains of Myanmar towards the island arc along the Java Trench.
• The eastern margin is a spreading site lying to the east of Australia in the form of an oceanic ridge in SW Pacific.
• The Western margin follows Kirthar Mountain of Pakistan.

• Explanation:

(D)

• The Bhangar is the older alluvium along the river beds forming terraces higher than the flood plain.
• The terraces are often impregnated with calcareous concretions known as ‘KANKAR’.
• ‘The Barind plains’ in the deltaic region of Bengal and the ‘bhur formations’ in the middle Ganga and Yamuna doab are regional variations of Bhangar.
• Bhur denotes an elevated piece of land situated along the banks of the Ganga river especially in the upper Ganga-Yamuna Doab.
• This has been formed due to accumulation of wind-blown sands during the hot dry months of the year
• The Khadar is composed of newer alluvium and forms the flood plains along the river banks.

• Explanation:

(A)

• The Peninsular rivers have shorter and shallower courses as compared to their Himalayan counterparts.
• Most of them come from Western Ghats, however, some of them originate in the central highlands and flow towards the west.
• Rest of them all flow to the east in the Bay of Bengal.
• A large number of the Peninsular rivers are seasonal, as their flow is dependent on rainfall.
• During the dry season, even the large rivers have reduced flow of water in their channels.
• Moreover, due to flowing on hard terrain and short courses, they carry much lesser silt as compared to Himalayan rivers.

• Explanation:

(B)

• Braided streams tend to occur in rivers with high sediment loads and/or coarse grain sizes, and in rivers with steeper slopes than typical rivers with straight or meandering channel patterns.
• The Himalayas mountains are tectonic in origin, dissected by fast-flowing rivers which are in their youthful stage.
• Various landforms like gorges, V-shaped valleys, rapids, waterfalls, etc. are indicative of this stage.

• Explanation:

(C)

• The Sabarmati river is one of the major west-flowing rivers in India.
• It originates in the Aravalli Range.
• Brahmaputra river originates from the Kailash ranges of Himalayas.
• Krishna river's source is at Mahabaleshwar.
• The Godavari River rises from Trimbakeshwar in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.

• Explanation:

(B)

• Usually, large Rivers flowing on the peninsular plateau have their origin in the Western Ghats and discharge their waters in the Bay of Bengal.
• Indus, Tapti, Mahi, Narmada and Sabarmati drain in the Arabian Sea.
• Subarnrekha, Penner and others drain in the Bay of Bengal.

• Explanation:

(D)

• It is opined that in due course of time Indo– Brahma river was dismembered into three main drainage systems:
• The Indus and its five tributaries in the western part
• The Ganga and its Himalayan tributaries in the central part
• The stretch of the Brahmaputra in Assam and its Himalayan tributaries in the eastern part.

• Explanation:

(D)

• The ocean water is dynamic.
• Its physical characteristics like temperature, salinity, density and the external forces like of the sun, moon and the winds influence the movement of ocean water.

• Explanation:

(B)

• INSTA STATIC QUIZ
• The periodical rise and fall of the sea level, once or twice a day, mainly due to the attraction of the sun and the moon, is called a tide.
• Movement of water caused by meteorological effects (winds and atmospheric pressure changes) are called surges.
• The moon’s gravitational pull to a great extent and to a lesser extent the sun’s gravitational pull, are the major causes for the occurrence of tides.
• Another factor is centrifugal force, which is the force that acts to counter balance the gravity.
• Together, the gravitational pull and the centrifugal force are responsible for creating the two major tidal bulges on the earth.

• Explanation:

(C)

• The shape of bays and estuaries along a coastline can also magnify the intensity of tides.
• The position of both the sun and the moon in relation to the earth has direct bearing on tide height.
• When the sun, the moon and the earth are in a straight line, the height of the tide will be higher.
• These are called spring tides and they occur twice a month, one on full moon period and another during new moon period.
• Normally, there is a seven-day interval between the spring tides and neap tides.
• At this time the sun and moon are at right angles to each other and the forces of the sun and moon tend to counteract one another.

• Explanation:

• Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas in East Sikkim district.  Hence, statement 1 is not correct.

• Explanation:

• The McMohan Line is a boundary line between India and China. It was a line agreed to by Britain and Tibet as a part of Shimla Accord in 1914. It is regarded as a legal national border by India, but it is disputed by China. McMohan line doesn’t cover the entire North- East region.

• Explanation:

• Sir Creek is a 96-km strip of water disputed between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands. Originally named Ban Ganga, Sir Creek is named after a British representative. The Creek opens up in the Arabian Sea and roughly divides the Kutch region of Gujarat from the Sindh Province of Pakistan.

• Explanation:

• The aim of fencing the India-Bangladesh border is to curb infiltration and smuggling of cattle and fake Indian currency note.However, land acquisition is a major challenge to completing the work by the deadline. Besides, government is going to use technological solutions such as cameras and lasers across cross border rivers, where fencing is not possible. It is the largest among the international boundaries that India shares with its neighbours, hence such challenges are natural. The border runs along five states, West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram.

• Explanation:

• The Union Cabinet has recently approved a Revised MOU between India and Bangladesh for establishing Border Haats on India-Bangladesh Border.Statement 2: Currently four Border Haats are operational, two each in Meghalaya and Tripura, along the border. They were established and operationalized under the MoU signed between Bangladesh and India in 2010.The Border Haats aim at promoting traditional system of marketing the local produce through local markets across the India-Bangladesh border. It helps improve economic well-being of marginalised sections in remote areas across along the border.

• Explanation:

Rakhine state is a state in Myanmar (Burma). Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State to the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region to the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest.The Rohingya - a stateless mostly Muslim minority group - have faced years of persecution in Myanmar. Deep-seated tensions between them and the majority Buddhist population in Rakhine have led to deadly communal violence in the past.A fresh outbreak of violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state has caused hundreds of thousands of Rohingya civilians to flee to Bangladesh

• Explanation:

• Doklam is an area with a plateau and a valley, lying between Tibet's Chumbi Valley to the north, Bhutan's Ha Valley to the east and India's Sikkim state to the west. It has been depicted as part of Bhutan in the Bhutanese maps since 1961, but it is also claimed by China. To date, the dispute has not been resolved despiteseveralroundsofbordernegotiationsbetween Bhutan andChina.In June2017 a military standoff occurred between China and India as China attempted to extend a road on the Doklam plateau southwards near the Doka La pass and Indian troops moved in to prevent the Chinese.India claimed to have acted on behalf of Bhutan, with which it has a 'special relationship'.

• Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: India- Myanmar boundary runs roughly along the watershed between the Brahmaputra and Ayeyarwady [Irrawaddy]. It passes through thickly forested regions, with Mizo Hills, Manipur and Nagaland on the Indian side and Chin Hills, Naga Hills and Kachin state on the Myanmar side.Statement 2 is not correct:India shares longest international border with Bangladesh. It is 4,096 km long. This boundary has been determined under the Radcliffe Award which divided the erstwhile province of Bengal into two parts.Statement 3 is correct: India shares boundary with Afghanistan through Wakhan corridor. The Wakhan Corridor is about 210km long (130 miles) long.

• India has 15,106.7 Km of land border and a coastline of 7,516.6 Km including island territories. The length of our land borders with neighbouring countries is as under:

Name of the country                      Length of the border (in Km)

Bangladesh                                                         4,096.7

China                                                                     3,488

Pakistan                                                               3,323

Nepal                                                                    1,751

Myanmar                                                             1,643

Bhutan                                                                  699

Afghanistan                                                        106

Total                                                                      15,106.7

• Explanation:

• The Himalayas, together with other ranges, have acted as a formidable physical barrier in the past.Except for a few mountains passes such as the Khyber, the Bolan, the Shipkila, the Nathula, theBomdila, etc. it was difficult to cross it.

• Explanation:

• The western portion of the Line of Actual Control, separating the Eastern Ladakh and Aksai Chin.Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

• Explanation:

India-Bangladesh Border Haat is a border trade market between Bangladesh and India. Currently, four border haats are operational along the India-Bangladesh border. Two border haats are located in Meghalaya at Kalaichar and Balat and two are located in Tripura at Srinagar and Kamalasagar.There are no border haats in operation along the Bhutan and Myanmar borders.

• Explanation:

• The Durand line was slightly modified by the Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, meant to be for 100 years but was never renewed. Hence, option (c) is the correct answer.

• Explanation:

• Brahmaputra River: It is one of the largest rivers in India as well as in Asia. It is slightly longer than the Indus and most of its course lies outside India.OriginIt originates from theChemayungdung Glacier in Tibet, southeast of Mansarovar lake very close to the sources of the Indus and the Satluj.In Tibet, the river carries smaller volume of water and less silt as it is a cold and dry region.It flows eastwards for nearly 1100 Km between the Great Himalayas range to the south and the Kailash Range to the north.The river cuts through the world’s tallest gorge between Gyala Peri and Namcha Barwa before merging with the Yigong-Tsangpo river and taking a 180-degree turn southward to flow into Arunachal Pradesh where it is known as Siang.Further downstream, the major tributaries such as the Lohit and Dibang join the Siang to make it the Brahmaputra.

• Explanation:

• Siang River:Siang flows about 1,600 kilometres as Tsangpo river through the Tibet plateau before entering India in Arunachal Pradesh. The river becomes Brahmaputra after it flows into Assam near Sadiya.

• Explanation:

• An antecedent stream is a stream that maintains its original course and pattern despite the

changes in underlying rock topography. A stream with a dendritic drainage pattern, for

example, can be subject to slow tectonic uplift. However, as the uplift occurs, the stream erodes

through the rising ridge to form a steep-walled gorge. The stream thus keeps its dendritic

pattern even though it flows over a landscape that will normally produce a trellis drainage

• Explanation:

• The crystal-clear waters of the Siang river, considered the lifeline of Northern Arunachal Pradesh for centuries, has suddenly turned dark black triggering panic in the frontier state. The Siang is the principal constituent river of the Brahnmaputra and flows 1,600km through southern Tibet as the Yarlung Tsangpo or Yarlung Zangbo before entering India. Siang is also known as Dihang in India, which joins the Lohit after flowing for 230 km. The Dibang joins at about 35 km downstream of Pasighat in East Siang district to form the Brahmaputra.

• Explanation:

• Mizoram is also known as the ‘Molassis basin’ which is made up of soft unconsolidated deposits. Mizoram is known as land of rolling mountains, i.e it has huge number of mountains. Formations of most mountains are accompanied by formation of Foreland basin or in simple terms valley type depression which runs parallel to mountains. These depressions get accumulated with unconsolidated deposits known as molasses basin.

• Explanation:

• River Brahmaputra before entering Assam is known as Siang in Arunachal Pradesh. So, it is the not the tributary of River Brahmaputra but the other name of River Brahmaputra. It is also known as River Dihang in Arunachal Pradesh. River Dibang is its left-bank tributary. Other tributaries of River Brahmaputra or Tsangpo or Siang (Dihang) are Lohit, Dhansiri, Subansiri, Kameng, Teesta, etc.

• Explanation:

• Eastern Ghats: They are discontinuous range of mountains along the Eastern coast of India. They are spreaded across the five states (Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka). They are eroded and cut through by the four major rivers (Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna and Kaveri) of peninsular India. They run parallel to the Bay of Bengal.

• Explanation:

• The western coastal plains are an example of submerged coastal plain. It is believed that the city of Dwaraka which was once a part of the Indian mainland situated along the west coast is submerged under water. Because of this submergence it is a narrow belt and provides natural conditions for the development of ports and harbours. Kandla, Mazagaon, JLN port Navha Sheva, Marmagao, Mangalore, Cochin, etc. are some of the important natural ports located along the west coast.

• Explanation:

• The western coastal plains are very narrow. The eastern coastal plains are much broader. There are number of east flowing rivers not needed like Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Kaveri drain into Bay of Bengal.

• Explanation:

A lagoon is a shallow body of water protected from a larger body of water (usually the ocean) by sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. Lagoons are often called estuaries, sounds, bays, or even lakes.Statement 1: Lagoons sheltered by sandbars or barrier islands are called coastal lagoons. Coastal lagoons form along coastal plains—flat or gently sloping landscapes. They form in areas with small tidal ranges. Coastal lagoons are created as a shallow basin near the shore gradually erodes, and the ocean seeps in between the sandbars or barrier islands.Statement 2: The size and depth of coastal lagoons often depend on sea level. When the sea level is low, coastal lagoons are swampy wetlands.When the sea level is high, they can look like coastal lakes or bays

• Explanation:

• Mangrove Sites are as follows:West Bengal:SunderbansOdisha:Bhaitarkanika, Mahanadi, Subernarekha, Devi, Dhamra, Mangrove Genetic Resources Centre, ChilkaAndhra Pradesh:Coringa, East Godavari, KrishnaTamil Nadu:Pichavaram, Muthupet, Ramnad, Pulicat, KazhuveliKarnataka:Coondapur, Dakshin Kannada/Honnavar, Karwar, Mangalore Forest DivisionMaharashtra:Achra-Ratnagiri, Devgarj-Vijay Durg, Veldur, Kundalika Revdanda, Mumbai-Diva, Vikhroli, Shreevardhan, Vaitarna, Vasai-Manori, Malvan

• Explanation:

• Mangroves are plants that survive high salinity, tidal regimes, strong wind velocity, high temperature and muddy anaerobic soil—a combination of conditions hostile for other plants.In fact, Mangroves grow best in inter-tidal regions of sheltered shores, estuaries, creeks, backwaters, lagoons, marshes and mud-flats. So, statement 2 is clearly incorrect.The mangrove ecosystems constitute a symbiotic link or bridge between terrestrial and marine ecosystem.Mangrove vegetation has been reported in all the coastal states/UTs. India is home to some of the best mangroves in the world. West Bengal has the maximum mangrove cover in the country, followed by Gujarat and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.However, not all coastal areas are suitable for mangrove plantation as these plants require an appropriate mix of saline and freshwater, and soft substrate like mudflats to enable it to grow and perpetuate.

• Explanation:

• TheKosi is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, Nepal and India.It has it source in Tibet that includes the world's highest upland; it then drains a large part of Nepal beforeemerging onto the Gangetic plains.Hence, statement 1 is correct.The river crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.Its unstable nature has been attributed to course changes and the heavy silt it carries during the monsoon season, and flooding in India has extreme effects. The Kosi carries the maximum amount of silt and sand after the Brahmaputra in India.It is also known as the “Sorrow of Bihar” as the annual floods affect about 21,000 km2 of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy. Hence, statement 3 is correct.

Hence, option (b) is the correct answer.

• Explanation:

• Dhauliganga originates fromVasudhara Tal, perhaps the largest glacial lake in Uttarakhand. Hence, statement 1 is correct.Dhauliganga is one of the important tributaries of Alaknanda, the other being the Nandakini, Pindar, Mandakini and Bhagirathi.Dhauliganga is joined by the Rishiganga river at Raini. It merges with the Alaknanda at Vishnuprayag. Hence, statement 2 is not correct.There it loses its identity and the Alaknanda flows southwest through Chamoli, Maithana, Nandaprayag, Karnaprayag until it meets the Mandakini river, coming from the north at Rudraprayag.

• Explanation:

• The river Yamuna, a major tributary of river Ganges, originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Bandarpoonch peaksin the Mussoorie range of the lower Himalayas in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

It meets the Ganges at the Sangam in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh after flowing through Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi.

Length: 1376 km

Important Dam: Lakhwar-Vyasi Dam (Uttarakhand), Tajewala Barrage Dam (Haryana) etc.

Chambal, Sindh, Betwa, Ken and Tons join Yamuna on its right bank. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Explanation:

• The headwaters of the Ganga, called the ‘Bhagirathi’ is fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devaprayag in Uttaranchal. At Haridwar the Ganga emerges from the mountains on to the plains. The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi. The river Yamuna rises from the Yamunotri Glacier in the Himalayas. The main tributaries, which come from the peninsular uplands, are the Chambal, the Betwa and the Son. These rise from semi arid areas, have shorter courses and do not carry much water in them. Son joins Ganga near Patna.

• Explanation:

• In a recent study, the International Commission for Snow and lee (ICSE) reported that Himalayan glaciers- that are the principal dry-season water sources of Asia's biggest rivers - Ganges, Indus, Brahmaputra, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween and Yellow are shrinking quicker than anywhere else and that if current trends continue they could disappear altogether by 2035.

• Explanation:

Majuli, in the Brahmaputra River is the largest inhabited riverine island in the world

• Explanation:

• France is the only western country with large territory in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) in the form of around 10 islands (mostly uninhabited), that span about two million square kilometres of an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). It includes the Reunion Islands, which has a population of one million French Citizens in the region, including about 30% of Indian origin.

The French navy maintains bases in the UAE, Djibouti as well as in Reunion, with a total of 20,000 forces permanently based in the IOR.

• Explanation:

• Nayachar, a newly emerged island in the middle estuary of the Hooghly river, was completely barren, with hardly any plant or animal species. The land mass, which falls under West Bengal’s Purba Medinipur district, was created in the Indian Sunderbans by river silt deposits, and remained largely submerged, rising occasionally above the water level.A publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) titled ‘Studies on the Succession and Faunal Diversity and Ecosystem Dynamics in Nayachar Island Indian Sundarban Delta’ had listed 151 animal species on the island, making it a rare case in ecology.

• Explanation:

• It is an uninhabited island administered by Sri Lanka and was a disputed territory claimed by India until 1976.Statement 1: The legality of the transfer was challenged in the Indian Supreme Court since the recognizing was not ratified by the Indian parliament. This recognition of an island that is culturally important to fishermen of Tamil Nadu state in India has led to some agitations by Tamil Nadu politicians that it should be claimed to Indian sovereignty.Statement 2: The island is also important for fishing grounds used by fishers from both countries. The Indo-Sri Lankan agreement allows Indian fishermen to fish around Katchatheevu and to dry their nets on the island. Many fishermen have been arrested for violating Sri Lankan laws on fishing.

• Explanation:

• Mana Pass is a mountain pass in the Himalayas on the border between India and Tibet. Lipulekh is a Himalayan pass between Nepal India and China connecting the North Western Cornered Byash Valley of Nepal and Indian State of Uttarakhand with the old trading town of Taklakot in Tibet and belongs to Nepal. Burzil Pass is an ancient pass and caravan route between Srinagar in Kashmir and Gilgit.

• Explanation:

• The complete erosion and inundation of Parali I is pointing to gravity of issues associated

with coastal erosion within atoll. It calls for urgent measures to be implemented on each islet of

the atoll in Lakshadweep sea to check further erosion. Further, due to increasing global

temperature because of climate change, islands and coastal areas are facing erosion and

inundation due to rising sea levels. India’s coasts and islands, are densely populated, are highly

vulnerable.

• Explanation:

• Pitti Island is an uninhabited coral islet in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. Pitti is an important nesting place for pelagic birds such as the sooty tern (Sterna fuliginosa), the greater crested tern (Sterna bergii) and the brown noddy (Anous stolidus).

• Explanation:

• The islands of Bay of Bengal are divided into two broad categories – the Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south. They are separated by a water body which is called the Ten degree channel. It is believed that these islands are an elevated portion of submarine mountains. However, some smaller islands are volcanic in origin. Barren island, the only active volcano in India is also situated in the Nicobar islands.The islands of the Arabian sea include Lakshadweep and Minicoy. These are scattered between 8°N-12°N and 71°E -74°E longitude. These islands are located at a distance of 240-480 km off the Kerala coast. The entire island group is built of coral deposits.

Hence, both the statements are correct.

• Explanation:

• Bhasan Char is an island formed by sedimentation (char is Bengali for sediment) close to the coast in Bay of Bengal.Bhasan Char is less an island and more mud flat, and is vulnerable to going under water from tides and flooding. Much of it is submerged during the monsoon.Located near the mouth of the river Meghna where it flows into the Bay of Bengal, Bhasan Char surfaced only in 2006 from the sediment deposited by the river.Located close to the much larger Sandwip, Bhasan Char spans 40 sq km.

• • Explanation:

   

  • A significant amount of the world’s coal resources are too deep to be mined by traditional methods. However, gasification that occurs underground can convert much of this “stranded” coal into syngas that can then be used to produce power and other useful products—without having to mine it.The predominant product gases are methane, hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide.Statement 1: There are a number of significant economic benefits associated with UCG that include no need for the coal to be mined or handling and a significantly lower capital cost for project development than that of above ground plants that mine coal.Statement 2: It also reduces use of groundwater or freshwater as underground saline water is used.

• Explanation:

• The two ions that are present most often in seawater are chloride and sodium. These two make up over 90% of all dissolved ions in seawater.The order of concentration can be seen hereMoreover, potassium cannot be commercially extracted as it is not very abundant and concentrated. So, B is wrong. Rivers and surface runoff are one, but not the only source of dissolved salts. Hydrothermal vents are recently-discovered features on the crest of oceanic ridges that contribute dissolved minerals to the oceans.

• Explanation:

• Statement 1: According to British Geological Survey, the world's largest deposit of mica is at Koderma district in the state of Jharkhand (India). About 95% of India's mica is distributed in just three states of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.Statement 2: Copper resource has been identified and explored to varying degree in 14 states of the country such as Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.Mining production of India is just 0.2% of world’s production, whereas refined copper production is about 4% of world’s production.Statement 3: Gold reserves, although scarce in India, have been reported from a number of scattered localities (apart from Karnataka and AP) in Gulbarga, Belgaum, Bellary, Mysore, Mandya, Chikmagalur and Shimoga districts.

• Explanation:

• Statement 1: India imports nearly 80% of its crude oil requirements. It however exports a large quantum of processed oil products.Statement 2: Ever since the cross-border trade of electricity started in mid-Eighties, India has been importing power from Bhutan and marginally exporting to Nepal. But, as per Central Electricity Authority, for the first time India has turned around from a net importer of electricity to Net Exporter of electricity during 2016-17. India has exported to Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Export to Nepal and Bangladesh increased 2.5 and 2.8 times respectively in last three years.Statement 3: Coking coal imports by Indian steel makers are pegged at 50 million tonnes in 2016-17.

• Explanation:

• It is the nodal agency to look after safety requirements of the Explosives and Petroleum Sectors.

Statement 1: To administer the responsibilities delegated under the Explosives Act 1884 and Petroleum Act 1934 and the rules made there under related to manufacture, import, export, transport, possession, sale and use of Explosives, Petroleum products and Compressed gases is its responsibility apart from providing related technical guidance.Statement 2: It must ensure public safety in the areas of manufacture, transport, storage, handling, etc. of Explosives, Petroleum, Carbide of Calcium, Inflammable substances and Compressed Gases.Evaluation of new technologies in hazardous within the purview of Explosives Act 1884 and Petroleum Act 1934 also comes under its ambit.

• Explanation:
• A lagoon is a shallow body of water protected from a larger body of water (usually the ocean) by sandbars, barrier islands, or coral reefs. Lagoons are often called estuaries, sounds, bays, or even lakes.
• Statement 1: Lagoons sheltered by sandbars or barrier islands are called coastal lagoons. Coastal lagoons form along coastal plains—flat or gently sloping landscapes. They form in areas with small tidal ranges. Coastal lagoons are created as a shallow basin near the shore gradually erodes, and the ocean seeps in between the sandbars or barrier islands.
• Statement 2: The size and depth of coastal lagoons often depend on sea level. When the sea level is low, coastal lagoons are swampy wetlands.When the sea level is high, they can look like coastal lakes or bays.

• Explanation:

• Banihal Pass Kashmir Valley with the outer Himalaya and the plains to the south.

Bara-Lacha-La PassLahaul district in Himachal Pradesh with Leh district in Ladakh.

Fotu La PassLeh with Kargil of LadakhRohtang PassKullu Valley with the Lahaul and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh.Shipki La PassKinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh with Autonomous Region of Tibet, China.Jelep La PassSikkim with Autonomous Region of Tibet, China. Nathu La PassSikkim with Autonomous Region of Tibet, China.Lipu Lekh PassChaudans valley of India with Autonomous Region of Tibet, China. It is located close to the tri junction of Uttarakhand (India), China and Nepal.Khardung LaLadakh with Siachen glacier. It is the highest motorable pass in the world.Bom di LaIt is in Arunachal Pradesh

• • Explanation:

   

  • Bara-lacha La is a high mountain pass in Zanskar range.It connects Lahaul district in Himachal

  Pradesh to Leh district in Ladakh, situated along the Leh–Manali Highway.

   

• • Explanation:

   

  • Ten minerals which are selected to measure the degree of hardness from 1-10-
  1. Talc;
  2. Gypsum;
  3. Calcite;

  4.Fluorite;

  5. Apatite;
  6. Feldspar;
  7. Quartz;
  8. Topaz;
  9. Corundum;
  10. Diamond.

• Explanation:

• India was the first country to receive the status of a pioneer investor for exploration and

utilization of polymetallic nodules. It was allocated an exclusive area in Central Indian Ocean

Basin by United Nations (UN) in 1987.The International Seabed Authority (ISA) in its 23rd session recently held at Kingston; Jamaicahas extended India’s exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules from seabed in CentralIndian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Polymetallic nodules (also called as manganese nodules) are small potato-sized (from millimetres to tens of centimetres in diameter) lumps of minerals found in deep sea. They contain nickel, copper, cobalt, lead, cadmium, vanadium, molybdenum, titanium in variousproportions of which nickel, cobalt and copper are considered to be of economic and strategicimportance. They are found in abundance carpeting the sea floor of world oceans in deep sea.

• Explanation:

• CBM is covered under HELP that includes all hydrocarbons like Natural Gas and Shale Gas, it is governed by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.Coal bed methane (CBM): Methane is associated with coal as a byproduct of the coal formation process and it occurs naturally underground within coal reserves. It can be extracted using a variety of techniques.Currently, Great Eastern Energy Corporation and Essar Oil are the only two CBM-gas producing blocks in the country, both from separate reserves in Raniganj, West Bengal. Reliance Industries has reportedly begun test production from its two blocks in Madhya Pradesh.Comparison with Shale gas in extraction: CBM extraction gives out water while shale fracking needs water. Again, CBM production can only be ramped up gradually after de-watering while in case of shale, production is high in the initial years.Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) has following key features:There will be a uniform licensing system which will cover all hydrocarbons, i.e. oil, gas, coalbed methane etc. under a single license and policy framework.Contracts will be based on “biddable revenue sharing”.An Open Acreage Licensing Policy will be implemented whereby a bidder may apply to the Government seeking exploration of any block not already covered by exploration.A concessional royalty regime will be implemented for deep water and ultra-deep-water areas.The contractor will have freedom for pricing and marketing of gas produced in the domestic market on arm’s length basis.

• Explanation:

• Over two-thirds of the world's production of uranium from mines is from Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia. An increasing amount of uranium, now 48%, is produced by in situ leaching. After a decade of falling mine production to 1993, output of uranium has generally risen since then and now meets almost all the demand for power generation.Kazakhstan produces the largest share of uranium from mines (39% of world supply from mines), followed by Canada (22%) and Australia (10%).

• Explanation:

• National Geophysical Laboratory, Geological Survey of India, Department of Meteorology, Government of India, along with the recently formed National Institute of Disaster Management, have made an intensive analysis of more than 1,200 earthquakes that have occurred in India in different years in the past, and based on these, they divided India into the following five earthquake zones:

1. a) Very high damage risk zone
2. b) High damage risk zone
3. c) Moderate damage risk zone
4. d) Low damage risk zone
5. e) Very low damage risk zone.

Out of these, the first two zones had experienced some of the most devastating earthquakes in India. The most vulnerable are North-east states, areas to the north of Darbhanga and Araria along the Indo-Nepal border in Bihar, Uttaranchal, Western Himachal Pradesh (around Dharamshala) and Kashmir Valley in the Himalayan region and the Kuchchh (Gujarat). These are included in the Very High Damage Risk Zone. Similarly, the remaining parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Northern parts of Punjab, Eastern parts of Haryana, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Northern Bihar fall under the High Damage Risk Zone. Remaining parts of the country fall under moderate to very Low Damage Risk Zone. Most of the areas that can be considered safe are from the stable landmass covered under the Deccan plateau.

• Explanation:

In our country, debris avalanches and landslides occur very frequently in the Himalayas. There are many reasons for this. One, the Himalayas are tectonically active. They are mostly made up of sedimentary rocks and unconsolidated and semi-consolidated deposits. The slopes are very steep. Compared to the Himalayas, the Nilgiris bordering Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala and the Western Ghats along the west coast are relatively tectonically stable and are mostly made up of very hard rocks; but, still, debris avalanches and landslides occur though not as frequently as in the Himalayas, in these hills because:many slopes are steeper with almost vertical cliffs and escarpments in the Western Ghats and Nilgiris. mechanical weathering due to temperature changes and ranges is pronounced. they receive heavy amounts of rainfall over short periods. So, there is almost direct rock fall quite frequently in these places along with landslides and debris avalanches.

• Explanation:

• Flash droughts are those that occur very quickly, with soil moisture depleting rapidly. Normally, developing drought conditions take months, but these happen within a week or in two weeks’ time. Several factors including atmospheric anomalies, anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions play an important role.

• Explanation:

• Since FS 2014 – 15, GSI has launched and undertook a national programme on landslide susceptibility mapping – National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping (NLSM).Aims and ObjectivesTo create a dynamic National Landslide Susceptibility Geodatabase for IndiaTo prepare GIS – based seamless Landslide Susceptibility Maps of India on 1:50,000 scaleTo prepare a nation-wide repository on GIS-based Landslide Inventory

• Explanation:

• India is one of the highly earthquake affected countries because of the presence of tectonically active young fold mountains, Himalayas. India has been divided into four seismic zones (II, III, IV, and V) based on scientific inputs relating to seismicity, earthquakes occurred in the past and tectonic setup of the region.BIS is the official agency for publishing the seismic hazard maps and codes.The earthquake events are scaled either according to the magnitude or intensity of the shock.The magnitude scale is known as the Richter scale. The magnitude relates to the energy released during the earthquake which is expressed in absolute numbers, 0-10.The intensity scale or Mercalli scale takes into account the visible damage caused by the event. The range of intensity scale is from 1-12.