Mountain Peaks
Q30. Which listed peak does not lie in India?
[UPPCS Mains (2005)]
(A) Gosainthan
(B) Kamet
(C) Nanda Devi
(D) Trishul
Answer: (a) Gosainthan
Explanation: Gosainthan, also known as Shishapangma, lies in Tibet. Kamet, Nanda Devi and Trishul are major peaks of Uttarakhand’s Himalaya. Nearby international borders make peak-location questions easy to confuse unless the map is checked.
Physical Divisions
Q29. Which claim about Indian physiography is wrong?
[UPPCS Lower Subordinate Prelims (2004)]
(A) The Peninsula is India’s oldest geological block
(B) Himalayas are youthful fold mountains
(C) Western coast was built primarily by river deposition
(D) Gondwana strata contain major Indian coal deposits
Answer: (c) Western coast was built primarily by river deposition
Explanation: India’s western coastal margin is associated with tectonic movements, submergence and marine processes rather than large river-built delta plains. The east coast, by contrast, has broad deltas. The other statements accurately describe major geological features of India.
Mountain Peaks
Q28. Nanda Devi is part of which Himalayan section?
[UPSC CSE Prelims (2003)]
(A) Assam Himalaya
(B) Garhwal Himalaya
(C) Nepal Himalaya
(D) Punjab Himalaya
Answer: (b) Garhwal Himalaya
Explanation: Nanda Devi rises in Uttarakhand’s Garhwal Himalaya. It is an important peak within the Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve landscape and is far west of the Nepal and Assam Himalayan sections listed in the alternatives.
Southern and Central Hills
Q27. Which is the oldest mountain range of India?
[RAS Prelims (2003)]
(A) Himalaya
(B) Aravalli
(C) Vindhya
(D) Satpura
Answer: (b) Aravalli
Explanation: The Aravalli Mountains are remnants of one of India’s oldest orogenic systems. Extensive weathering and erosion have reduced their former height. The Himalayas, in contrast, are a much younger actively rising fold mountain belt.
Coastal Region
Q26. Which rounded value approximates India’s full coastline in the older exam?
[Jharkhand PSC Prelims (2003)]
(A) 3,500 km
(B) 800 km
(C) 6,000 km
(D) 7,500 km
Answer: (d) 7,500 km
Explanation: The traditional figure for India’s mainland and island coastline was about 7,516.6 kilometres, making 7,500 km the nearest choice. Coastline measurement depends on map scale and surveying methodology, so newer official recalculations need not match historical question figures.
Coastal Region
Q25. Which places are on India’s western coast: 1. Janjira 2. Udupi 3. Auroville 4. Tuticorin?
[UPPCS Lower Subordinate Prelims (2002)]
(A) 1 and 2 only
(B) 2 and 3 only
(C) 3 and 4 only
(D) 1, 2 and 4
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only
Explanation: Janjira lies on Maharashtra’s Arabian Sea coast and Udupi on Karnataka’s western coast. Auroville and Tuticorin are on the southeastern or eastern coastal side. Hence only the first two locations qualify.
Mountain Peaks
Q24. Who became the first woman to climb Everest twice?
[Uttarakhand PSC Prelims (2002)]
(A) Bachendri Pal
(B) Chandra Prabha Aitwal
(C) Jaya Kshetri
(D) Santosh Yadav
Answer: (d) Santosh Yadav
Explanation: Santosh Yadav climbed Mount Everest in 1992 and again in 1993, becoming the first woman to summit it twice. This achievement is distinct from Bachendri Pal’s milestone as the first Indian woman to reach Everest in 1984.
Southern and Central Hills
Q23. According to the question’s approximate-age choices, the Aravalli Range is how old?
[UPSC CSE Prelims (2001)]
(A) 370 million years
(B) 470 million years
(C) 570 million years
(D) 670 million years
Answer: (c) 570 million years
Explanation: The question used an approximate value of 570 million years for the Aravalli belt. The range’s geological history involves much older rocks and multiple tectonic episodes, so the exam figure should be read as a conventional approximation rather than a precise single formation date.
Islands
Q22. In standard examination counting, how many islands make up Lakshadweep?
[45th BPSC Prelims (2001)]
(A) 17
(B) 27
(C) 36
(D) 47
Answer: (c) 36
Explanation: Lakshadweep’s traditional enumeration is 36 islands. They form an Arabian Sea archipelago of reefs, lagoons and atolls southwest of India. Kavaratti serves as its administrative centre, and only part of the island group is inhabited.
Coastal Region
Q21. Which west-coast cities are in correct north–south order: Janjira, Sindhudurg, Kannur and Nagercoil?
[UPPCS UDA/LDA Prelims (2001)]
(A) Janjira, Kannur, Nagercoil, Sindhudurg
(B) Kannur, Janjira, Nagercoil, Sindhudurg
(C) Janjira, Kannur, Sindhudurg, Nagercoil
(D) Janjira, Sindhudurg, Kannur, Nagercoil
Answer: (d) Janjira, Sindhudurg, Kannur, Nagercoil
Explanation: Janjira lies on northern coastal Maharashtra, Sindhudurg farther south in Maharashtra, Kannur in Kerala and Nagercoil near India’s southern tip in Tamil Nadu. Their positions establish the direction from the northern Arabian Sea coast toward Kanyakumari.
