Q90. The Peninsular Plateau of India is divided into which two major parts?
[DSSSB MTS (19 April 2026, Shift 1)]
- (A) Eastern and Western Coastal Plains
- (B) Western and Eastern Ghats
- (C) Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau
- (D) Northern Plains and Coastal Plains
Answer: (C) Central Highlands and Deccan Plateau
Explanation: The Narmada valley broadly separates the Central Highlands to the north from the Deccan Plateau to the south. Both belong to India’s ancient peninsular landmass, characterized primarily by hard crystalline rocks and a long history of erosion.
Q89. Which mountain range is youngest in geological formation?
[DSSSB PRT (10 April 2026, Shift 1)]
- (A) Satpura Range
- (B) Himalayas
- (C) Eastern Ghats
- (D) Aravalli Hills
Answer: (B) Himalayas
Explanation: The Himalayas began developing in the Cenozoic as India collided with Eurasia. Aravalli, Satpura and Eastern Ghats have substantially older geological histories. Continuing crustal convergence means Himalayan uplift and seismic deformation have not completely ceased.
Q88. Which of these mountain ranges is the youngest geologically?
[DSSSB PRT (3 April 2026, Shift 3)]
- (A) Himalayas
- (B) Eastern Ghats
- (C) Aravalli Hills
- (D) Satpura Range
Answer: (A) Himalayas
Explanation: The Himalayan mountains were uplifted during the Cenozoic collision between the Indian and Eurasian continents. The other listed mountain belts are rooted in older peninsular geological history, making the Himalayas the youngest among these alternatives.
Q87. Most major peninsular rivers flow from west to east. Which pair is an exception?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate) CBT-I (24 March 2026, Shift 3)]
- (A) Godavari and Krishna
- (B) Kaveri and Krishna
- (C) Mahanadi and Kaveri
- (D) Narmada and Tapi
Answer: (D) Narmada and Tapi
Explanation: Most peninsular rivers follow the broad eastward surface slope. The Narmada and Tapi are important exceptions because tectonically controlled linear valleys direct their waters westward toward the Arabian Sea instead of the Bay of Bengal.
Q86. Which ranges run through India’s Trans-Himalayan zone?
[RRB NTPC (Graduate) CBT-I (19 March 2026, Shift 1)]
- (A) Himalayas, Aravalli and Vindhya
- (B) Western Ghats, Eastern Ghats and Satpura
- (C) Zanskar, Ladakh and Karakoram
- (D) Himalayas, Satpura and Karakoram
Answer: (C) Zanskar, Ladakh and Karakoram
Explanation: The Zanskar, Ladakh and Karakoram ranges belong to the high mountain region beyond the Greater Himalayas. Their tectonic origins and structural position connect them with the broader Himalayan collision zone rather than India’s ancient southern plateau.
Q85. Which young fold mountain system forms India’s northern, northwestern and northeastern margins?
[DSSSB MTS (8 March 2026, Shift 2)]
- (A) Vindhya Range
- (B) Himalayas
- (C) Western Ghats
- (D) Aravalli Hills
Answer: (B) Himalayas
Explanation: The Himalayas form an extensive arcuate mountain barrier across northern India. These mountains resulted from Indian–Eurasian plate collision, making them younger and more tectonically active than the Aravalli and other peninsular ranges.
Q84. Which geological system is associated with major uranium deposits in India in the given options?
[MP Police Sub-Inspector (17 January 2026, Shift 1)]
- (A) Young sedimentary basins
- (B) Recent river alluvium
- (C) Deccan Trap volcanic rocks
- (D) Dharwar rocks
Answer: (D) Dharwar rocks
Explanation: Dharwar-type Precambrian crystalline and metamorphic terrains contain significant metallic mineral occurrences and can host uranium mineralisation. Uranium in India also occurs in other geological settings, so the answer identifies the most appropriate choice among the four alternatives.
Q83. Which one of the following was part of Gondwanaland?
[UGC NET Geography (3 January 2026, Shift 2)]
- (A) Meghalaya Plateau
- (B) Kashmir Valley
- (C) Andaman and Nicobar Islands
- (D) Ladakh
Answer: (A) Meghalaya Plateau
Explanation: The Meghalaya or Shillong Plateau is an extension of the ancient Indian peninsular basement, separated by structural depressions. Kashmir, Ladakh and the Andaman–Nicobar arc belong to younger tectonic systems connected with India’s northern or eastern plate margins.
Q82. Most of India’s coal reserves occur in which rock formations?
[Delhi Police Constable, Executive (2 January 2026, Shift 2)]
- (A) Gondwana rocks
- (B) Deccan Traps
- (C) Cuddapah system
- (D) Vindhyan system
Answer: (A) Gondwana rocks
Explanation: The Gondwana sedimentary basins preserve thick coal-bearing sequences accumulated from ancient vegetation in continental depressions. Important coalfields are located around Damodar, Mahanadi and Godavari valleys. Deccan basalt and older crystalline systems are not the principal coal hosts.
Q81. Which are evidence of continental drift: I. Similar ancient rock belts in Brazil and western Africa; II. Ghanaian gold sourced from rocks once adjoining the Brazil plateau; III. Matching Gondwana sediments in India and other Southern Hemisphere landmasses?
[UPSC CSE Prelims, General Studies Paper I (2025)]
- (A) I and III only
- (B) I and II only
- (C) I, II and III
- (D) II and III only
Answer: (C) I, II and III
Explanation: Matching rock belts, comparable gold-bearing formations and widespread Gondwana glacial sediments collectively support an earlier joining of southern continents. Each observation is consistent with continental separation and subsequent plate movement, so all three statements provide relevant evidence.
