Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – April 3, 2020

Tropic of Cancer is an imaginary line, at an angle of 23.50 degrees north from the Equator that passes through the middle of India. If you run this imaginary line around Earth (Yes, Flat-Earthlings, the Earth is spherical), it passes through 17 countries, India being one of them. The Tropic of Cancer passes through eight states in India: Gujarat (Jasdan), Rajasthan (Kalinjarh), Madhya Pradesh (Shajapur), Chhattisgarh (Sonhat), Jharkhand (Lohardaga), West Bengal (Krishnanagar), Tripura (Udaipur) and Mizoram (Champhai). Mahi River is the only river in India that cuts the Tropic of Cancer twice, first in Madhya Pradesh from where it flows towards Rajasthan and enters Gujarat where it cuts for the second time.

Nallamala forest is spread across five districts in Andhra Pradesh and two erstwhile districts in Telangana – Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda. The forest may soon face what is being dubbed as an environmental catastrophe by activists. The Forest Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change recently recommended an ‘in-principle’ approval to the Department of Atomic Energy for survey and exploration of uranium over 83 square kilometres in as many as four blocks. The exploration in the region has particularly triggered concerns about the Chenchus, a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) in Telangana, who already are witnessing a decline in their population. According to the 2011 Census, their population is 16,912. Most of them reside deep in the Nallamala forest.

Tropical Evergreen forests are restricted to heavy rainfall areas of the Western Ghats and the island groups of Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, upper parts of Assam and Tamil Nadu coast. They are at their best in areas having more than 200 cm of rainfall with a short dry season. The trees reach great heights up to 60 metres or even above. Since the region is warm and wet throughout the year, it has a luxuriant vegetation of all kinds — trees, shrubs and creepers giving it a multilayered structure. There is no definite time for trees to shed their leaves. As such, these forests appear green all the year round.

The Peninsular drainage system is older than the Himalayan one. This is evident from the broad, largely-graded shallow valleys, and the maturity of the rivers. The Western Ghats running close to the western coast act as the water divide between the major Peninsular Rivers, discharging their water in the Bay of Bengal and as small rivulets joining the Arabian Sea. Most of the major Peninsular Rivers except Narmada and Tapi flow from west to east. The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa, the Ken, the Son, originating in the northern part of the Peninsula belong to the Ganga river system. The other major river systems of the peninsular drainage are – the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri. Peninsular rivers are characterised by fixed course, absence of meanders and non-perennial flow of water. The Narmada and the Tapi which flow through the rift valley are, however, exceptions.

Pichavaram mangrove is one of the largest mangrove in India, situated at Pichavaram near Chidambaram in Tamil Nadu. Pichavaram ranks among the one of the most exquisite scenic spot in Tamil Nadu and home of many species of Aquatic birds.