Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – April 6, 2018

Pair 1 is correct.

Zoji La is a high mountain pass in Jammu and Kashmir, India, located on the Indian National Highway 1D between Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range. Zoji La pass provides a vital link between Ladakh and Kashmir Valley.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Zoji La was seized by Pakistani supported invaders in 1948 in their campaign to capture Ladakh.

Pair 2 is correct.

The Nathula Pass or Nathu La Pass links the state of Sikkim in India with the Tibetan Autonomous Region in China. The Nathula Pass creates a portion of a branch of the old Silk Road.

Pair 3 is correct.

The Shipki pass or Shipki La Pass is a mountain pass and boundary check post on the border between India and China. The Sutlej River moves into India from Tibet via this pass.

Pair 4 is incorrect.

Bomdila Pass connects Arunachal Pradesh with Bhutan and Lhasa (the capital of Tibet). This mountain pass is situated to the east of Bhutan in the Greater Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. Owing to the snowfall and adverse weather in the winter season it remains closed.

Statement 1 is correct. Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands lie in the Bay of Bengal, 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. The capital of Andaman and Nicobar island is Port Blair.

Statement 2 is correct.

The Lakshadweep group of islands is broadly divided by the Eleventh-Degree channel, north of which is the Amini Island and to the south of the Canannore Island.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

Kerala Coast is the closest to Lakshadweep. Lakshadweep and Minicoy are the islands of the Arabian Sea. They are located at a distance of 280 km – 480 km off the Kerala coasts.

Statement 1 is correct.

India lies entirely in the Northern hemisphere. The main land extends between latitudes 8°4’N and longitudes 68°7’E and 97°25’E.

The Tropic of Cancer (23° 30’N) divides the country into almost two equal parts. To the southeast and southwest of the mainland, lie Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Lakshadweep islands in Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea respectively.

Statement 2 is incorrect.

The actual distance measured from north to south extremity is 3,214 km, and that from east to west is only 2,933 km. Thus, India’s east to west extent is shorter than that of the north to south.

Statement 3 is correct.

India is bounded by the Himalayas in the north, Hindukush and Sulaiman ranges in the northwest and Purvanchal hills in the north-east. All these mountains ranges are known as young fold mountains as these have been formed relatively recently in the Earth’s history, compared to older mountain ranges like the Aravallis.

Elfin Forest: Elfin forest is also known as Dwarf forest or pygmy forest. It is a rare ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humidity but poor soil.

There are two main dwarf forest ecosystem types, involving different species and environmental characteristics: coastal temperate and montane tropical regions. Temperate coastal dwarf forest is common for parts of Southern California.

Sclerophyll Forest: Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that has hard leaves, short internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation parallel or oblique to direct sunlight. The sclerophyll leaves have three leaf stress traits used to cope with hot and dry summer.

This type of forest is found in parts of Australia, in the Mediterranean forests and parts of south Africa.

Alpine Forests: Alpine Forests occur at altitudes ranging between 2,900 to 3,500 metres. These forests can be divided into: (1) sub-alpine; (2) moist alpine scrub and (3) dry alpine scrub. It is a mixture of coniferous and broad-leaved trees in which the coniferous trees attain a height of about 30 m while the broad leaved trees reach only 10 m. Fir, spruce, rhododendron, etc. are important species.

Montane Forest: Montane Forest grows at a height of 1800 to 3000 m above sea level. Mean annual rainfall is 150 cm to 300 cm. The trunks have large girth. Branches are clothed with mosses, ferns and other epiphytes. The trees rarely achieve a height of more than 6 metres. Deodar, Chilauni, Indian chestnut, birch, plum, machilus, cinnamomum, litsea, magnolia, blue pine, oak, hemlock, etc. are important species.

In India, Montane Forest is found in higher hills of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, in the Eastern Himalayan region.

The major peninsular rivers from north to south direction:

Narmada, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna, Penneru, Palar, Kaveri and Periyar.

Statement 1 is incorrect.

When the Monsoon trough keeps on moving northward or southward, it results spatial distribution of rainfall. It does not stop the rain or no break in Monsoon occurs due to this.

Statement 2 is correct.

Over the west coast the dry spells are associated with days when winds blow parallel to the coast.

Statement 3 is incorrect.

When the axis of the monsoon trough lies over the plains, rainfall is good in these parts (plains).

During the south-west monsoon period after having rains for a few days, if rain fails to occur for one or more weeks, it is known as break in the monsoon. These dry spells are quite common during the rainy season.

These breaks in the different regions are due to different reasons:

• When the Monsoon trough shifts to the foothills of Himalayas, which leads to sharp decrease in rainfall over most parts of the country but increase along the Himalayas and parts of Northeast India and Southern Peninsula.
• When the monsoons become weak, generally during July and August. Then, rainfall practically ceases over the country outside the Himalayan belt and southeast peninsula.

• The breaks are believed to be brought about by the northward shifting of the monsoon trough (minimum low-pressure cell in ITCZ). The axis of the trough lies at the foothills of the Himalayas during the break period.

Peaty Soils are found in the areas of heavy rainfall and high humidity, where there is a good growth of vegetation. Thus, large quantity of dead organic matter accumulates in these areas, and this gives a rich humus and organic content to the soil.

It is arid soil not Peaty which develops in the areas where salt content is very high.

Organic matter in Peaty Soils may go even up to 40-50 per cent.

These soils are normally heavy and black in colour. At many places, they are alkaline also.

These soils occur widely in the northern part of Bihar, southern part of Uttarakhand and the coastal areas of West Bengal, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.