Indian Geography Test 1

Answer – a

Refer to your own familiar map for remembering better

Answer – b

Brahmaputra receives numerous tributaries in its 750 km long journey through the Assam valley. Its major left bank tributaries are the Burhi Dihing and Dhansari (South) whereas the important right bank tributaries are the Subansiri, Kameng, Manas and Sankosh.

Answer – a

• Bengal and the other in the Arabian Sea. The Bay of Bengal island groups consist of about 572 islands/islets. These are situated roughly between 6°N-14°N and 92°E -94°E. The two principal groups of islets include the Ritchie’s archipelago and the Labrynth island
• Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south are separated by a water body which is called the Ten degree channel.
• Barren island, the only active volcano in India is also situated in the Nicobar islands.

Answer – d

• India’s territorial limit further extends towards the sea upto 12 nautical miles (about 21.9 km) from the coast
• Statute mile = 63,360 inches

Nautical mile = 72,960 inches

1 Statute mile = about 1.6 km (1.584 km)

1 Nautical mile = about 1.8 km (1.852 km)

• The latitudinal and longitudinal extent of India are roughly about 30 degrees, whereas the actual distance measured from north to south extremity is 3,214 km, and that from east to west is only 2,933 km. This difference is based on the fact that the distance between two longitudes decreases towards the poles whereas the distance between two latitudes remains the same everywhere.

Answer – 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 northeastern 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

Answer – d

• After flowing in the northwest direction between the Ladakh and Zaskar ranges, Indus passes through Ladakh and Baltistan. It cuts across the Ladakh range, forming a spectacular gorge near Gilgit in Jammu and Kashmir. It enters into Pakistan near Chillar in the Dardistan region.
• It finally emerges out of the hills near Attock where it receives the Kabul river on its right bank. The other important tributaries joining the right bank of the Indus are the Khurram, the Tochi, the Gomal, the Viboa and the Sangar. They all originate in the Sulaiman ranges.
• Indus flows in India only through the Leh district in Jammu and Kashmir

Answer – b

• A high pressure centre in Central Asian region lying to the north of the Himalayas develops during winter. This centre of high pressure gives rise to the flow of air at the low level from the north towards the Indian subcontinent, south of the mountain range. The surface winds blowing out of the high pressure centre over Central Asia reach India in the form of a dry continental air mass
• The western cyclonic disturbances which enter the Indian subcontinent from the west and the northwest during the winter months, originate over the Mediterranean Sea and are brought into India by the westerly jet stream. An increase in the prevailing night temperature generally indicates an advance in the arrival of these cyclones disturbances.

Answer – c

• Alluvial soils are widespread in the northern plains and the river valleys. These soils cover about 40 per cent of the total area of the country.

• The alluvial soils vary in nature from sandy loam to clay. They are generally rich in potash but poor in phosphorous. Read the phosphorus cycle to understand why alluvial soil is poor in phosphorus. We will be covering it later as well.

Answer – c

Answer – a

Coffee is a tropical plantation crop. Its seeds are roasted, ground and are used for preparing a beverage. There are three varieties of coffee i.e. arabica, robusta and liberica. India mostly grows superior quality coffee, arabica, which is in great demand in International market. But India produces only about 4.3 per cent coffee of the world and ranks sixth after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico. Coffee is cultivated in the highlands of Western
Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Karnataka alone accounts for more than twothird of total production of coffee in the country.

Answer – b

It is an indigenous crop of hills in northern China. It is grown over undulating topography of hilly areas and welldrained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and sub-tropics. In India, tea plantation started in 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam which still is a major tea growing area in the country. Later on, its plantation was introduced in the sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal (Darjiling, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar districts). Tea is also cultivated on the lower slopes of Nilgiri and Cardamom hills in Western Ghats. India is a after Sri Lanka and China. Assam accounts for about 53.2 per cent of the total cropped area and contributes more than half of total production of tea in the country. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the other leading producer of tea.

Answer – d

India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil. It accounts for about 23 per cent of the world production of sugarcane. But it occupies only 2.4 per cent of total cropped area in the country. Uttar Pradesh produces about two-fifth of sugarcane of the country. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are other leading producers of this crop where yield level of sugarcane is high. Its yield is low in northern India.

Answer- a

• India grows both short staple (Indian) cotton as well as long staple (American) cotton called ‘narma’ in north-western parts of the country.
• Leading producers of this crop are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. Per hectare output of cotton is high under irrigated conditions in
  north-western region of the country. Its yield is very low in Maharashtra where it is grown under rainfed conditions.

Answer – a

• Soyabean is mostly grown in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. These two states together produce about 90 per cent of total output of soyabean in the country.
• Sunflower cultivation is concentrated in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas of Maharashtra. It is a minor crop in northern parts of the country where its yield is high due to irrigation.

Answer – d

Kharif season largely coincides with Southwest Monsoon under which the cultivation of tropical crops such as rice, cotton, jute, jowar, bajra and tur is possible.

Answer – a

• Jowar is a tropical kharif crop
• The rabi season begins with the onset of winter in October-November and ends in March-April. The low temperature conditions during this season facilitate the cultivation of temperate and subtropical crops such as wheat, gram and mustard.

Answer – c

• Seasonal distinction in the cropping season does not exist in southern parts of the country. Here, the temperature is high enough to grow tropical crops during any period in the year provided the soil moisture is available. Therefore, in this region same crops can be grown thrice in an agricultural year provided there is sufficient soil moisture.
• In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of
  two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year.

Answer – a

• In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of
  two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year. In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’.

Answer – b

• Foodgrain crops occupy about two-third of total cropped area in the country. On the basis of the structure of grain the foodgrains are classified as cereals and pulses. The cereals occupy about 54 per cent of total cropped area in India
• The coarse cereals together occupy about 16.50 per cent of total cropped area in the
  Among these, jowar or sorghum alone accounts for about 5.3 per cent of total cropped area. It is main food crop in semi-arid areas of central and southern India. Maharashtra alone produces more than half of the total jowar production of the country

Answer – d

• Rainfall between 100-200 cm is received in the southern parts of Gujarat, east Tamil Nadu, northeastern Peninsula covering Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, eastern Madhya Pradesh, northern Ganga plain along the sub-Himalayas and the Cachar Valley and Manipur.
• Western Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, eastern Rajasthan, Gujarat and Deccan Plateau receive rainfall between 50-100 cm