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English · हिन्दी · తెలుగు · தமிழ் · മലയാളം · मराठी · ಕನ್ನಡ

Quick recap: world physical geography on one page

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

World physical geography and map work · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

All three parts condensed for quick revision: continents, peaks, mountains, plateaus and lowlands; rivers, lakes, deserts and grasslands; and seas, straits, canals, chokepoints and the Indian Ocean.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

हा अध्याय प्रिलिम्सच्या अनेक प्रश्नांमागचा नकाशा आहे. पहिला भाग: क्षेत्रफळाच्या क्रमाने सात खंड (आशिया, आफ्रिका, उत्तर अमेरिका, दक्षिण अमेरिका, अंटार्क्टिका, युरोप, ऑस्ट्रेलिया), त्यांच्यामधल्या सीमा आणि प्रत्येकाचे सर्वोच्च शिखर. एव्हरेस्ट 8,848.86 मीटर (2020); K2 दुसरे, कांचनजंगा तिसरे. विषुववृत्त आणि दोन्ही उष्णकटिबंधीय रेषा या तिन्ही ओलांडणारा खंड फक्त आफ्रिका: एकाच रस्त्यावर तीन टोलनाके असल्यासारखे. (→ English: continent · हिन्दी: महाद्वीप)

In exam EnglishThis chapter is the map behind many Prelims questions. Part 1 placed the land: the seven continents in order of area (Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia), the conventional boundaries between them (the Urals and the Caucasus, the Isthmus of Suez, the Isthmus of Panama, the Bering Strait), and the highest peak of each. Everest stands at 8,848.86 m, the height Nepal and China announced in 2020; K2 in the Karakoram is second, and Kangchenjunga, third, is the highest peak under Indian administration. Africa alone is crossed by the equator and both tropics, Antarctica is the highest and coldest continent, and Australia the smallest and flattest.

पर्वतांची विभागणी ते कसे तयार झाले यावरून केली जाते. घडीचे पर्वत भूपट्ट एकमेकांवर आदळतात तिथे उठतात: टेबलावरचे कापड दोन्ही बाजूंनी ढकलले की घड्या पडतात तसे; हिमालय, आल्प्स, सर्वात लांब अँडीज. जुने, झिजलेले: ॲपलेशियन, युरल, आपली अरवली. भेगांमुळे तयार झालेले: ऱ्हाईनची दरी, पूर्व आफ्रिकेची खचदरी, नर्मदा, तापी. ज्वालामुखी शिखरे एकटी उभी असतात; दख्खन लाव्हारसाने बनलेले पठार. (→ English: fold mountains · हिन्दी: वलित पर्वत)

In exam EnglishMountains are sorted by how they formed. Young fold mountains rise where plates converge: the Himalaya, Alps, Rockies, Atlas and the Andes, the longest continental range; several Asian ranges radiate from the Pamir Knot. Old, worn-down ranges include the Appalachians, the Urals and India's Aravalli, among the oldest fold mountains on Earth. Block mountains and rift valleys come from faulting: the Rhine flows between the Vosges and the Black Forest, the East African Rift holds Lakes Tanganyika and Malawi, and the Narmada and Tapi run in rift valleys. Volcanic peaks such as Fuji, Kilimanjaro and Etna stand alone, most active volcanoes ring the Pacific, and plateaus range from Tibet and the Altiplano to the lava-built Deccan.

दुसऱ्या भागात पाण्याचा माग घेतला. काही नद्या समुद्रापर्यंत पोहोचत नाहीत: व्होल्गा कॅस्पियनमध्ये, अमू दर्या आणि सिर दर्या अरलमध्ये संपतात: गावचा पाट तळ्यातच संपावा तशा. यांगत्से आशियातील सर्वात लांब; मेकाँग सहा देश, डॅन्यूब दहा देश. पांढरी आणि निळी नाईल खार्तूममध्ये मिळतात; काँगो विषुववृत्त दोनदा ओलांडते; ॲमेझॉनमध्ये सर्वाधिक पाणी. कॅस्पियन सर्वात मोठे सरोवर, पण खारट; सुपीरियर मोठे गोड्या पाण्याचे सरोवर; बैकल सर्वात खोल; अरल आणि चाड आकसले. (→ English: rivers and lakes · हिन्दी: नदियाँ और झीलें)

In exam EnglishPart 2 followed the water. Some rivers never reach the sea: the Volga ends in the Caspian, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya in the Aral. The Yangtze is Asia's longest river and carries the Three Gorges Dam; the Mekong touches six countries and the Danube ten, more than any other river. The White and Blue Nile meet at Khartoum, the Congo crosses the equator twice, and the Amazon carries the most water and drains the largest basin. Among lakes, the Caspian is the largest but salty, Superior the largest freshwater lake by area, Baikal the deepest and oldest, and Titicaca a high navigable lake, while the Aral Sea and Lake Chad have shrunk dramatically.

वाळवंट म्हणजे उष्ण प्रदेश नव्हे, पाऊस न मिळणारा प्रदेश. चार कारणे: उपोष्ण जास्त दाब (सहारा, थर), थंड प्रवाहांलगतचे पश्चिम किनारे (अटाकामा, नामिब), पर्वतांचा पर्जन्यछायेचा प्रदेश (पॅटागोनिया): छत्रीच्या मागे भिजत नाही तसा, आणि समुद्रापासून खूप दूर (गोबी). सर्वात मोठे वाळवंट अंटार्क्टिका! गवताळ प्रदेशांची नावे: उष्ण कटिबंधात सव्हाना, लानोस, कॅम्पोस; समशीतोष्ण भागात प्रेअरी, पंपास, स्टेप्स, वेल्ड, डाउन्स, कँटरबरी, पुस्ता. (→ English: rain shadow · हिन्दी: वृष्टि छाया क्षेत्र)

In exam EnglishA desert is defined by scarce rain, not by heat. Deserts form under the subtropical high-pressure belts (Sahara, Arabian, Thar, Kalahari), along western coasts chilled by cold currents (Atacama beside the Peru current, Namib beside the Benguela), in the rain-shadow area of mountains (Patagonia behind the Andes), and deep inside continents (Gobi, Taklamakan). Antarctica is the largest desert of all. Grasslands carry regional names: the tropical savanna of Africa, the Llanos of Venezuela and the Campos of Brazil; and the temperate Prairies of North America, Pampas of Argentina, Steppes of Eurasia, Veld of South Africa, Downs of Australia, Canterbury plains of New Zealand and Puszta of Hungary.

तिसरा भाग समुद्राकडे गेला. प्रत्येक सामुद्रधुनी दोन समुद्रांना जोडते: होर्मुझ (इराणचे आखात-ओमानचे आखात), बाब-एल-मांदेब (तांबडा समुद्र-एडन), मलाक्का (अंदमान-दक्षिण चीन), पाक (बंगालचा उपसागर-पाकचा उपसागर). सुएझ सपाट, लॉक नाहीत; पनामा पायऱ्यांसारख्या लॉकनी गातुन सरोवरापर्यंत उचलतो; कील उत्तर समुद्र-बाल्टिक. हे अरुंद मार्ग बंद झाले की जगाचा व्यापार थांबतो: तांबड्या समुद्रातले हल्ले, पनामाचा दुष्काळ. आपल्या बेटांमध्ये दहा, नऊ, आठ डिग्री मार्ग. (→ English: strait · हिन्दी: जलडमरूमध्य)

In exam EnglishPart 3 moved to the sea. Each strait joins two seas: Hormuz the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the Bab-el-Mandeb the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Malacca the Andaman Sea and the South China Sea, Palk the Bay of Bengal and Palk Bay. The Suez Canal (1869) has no locks; the Panama Canal (1914) lifts ships to Gatun Lake; the Kiel Canal joins the North Sea and the Baltic. These narrow passages are chokepoints, as the Red Sea attacks from November 2023 and the Panama drought of 2023-24 showed. Around India, the Ten, Nine and Eight Degree Channels separate its island groups and the Maldives, and Indira Point is the country's southern tip.
World physical geography at a glance
TopicMust-know factsCommon trap
ContinentsAsia, Africa, N America, S America, Antarctica, Europe, AustraliaAntarctica is larger than Europe and Australia
PeaksEverest 8,848.86 m (2020); K2 second; Kangchenjunga thirdK2 is in the Karakoram, not the Himalaya
MountainsYoung fold: Andes longest; old: Appalachians, Urals, AravalliKilimanjaro is a lone volcano, not a fold range
RiversDanube ten countries; Congo crosses the equator twiceThe Volga ends in the Caspian, not the Black Sea
LakesCaspian largest; Superior largest freshwater by area; Baikal deepestThe Caspian is salty, so it is not the largest freshwater lake
DesertsSubtropical highs, cold currents, rain shadow, distance from seaAntarctica is the largest desert; Gobi is a cold desert
StraitsHormuz, Bab-el-Mandeb, Malacca, Palk, Gibraltar, BosporusMalacca is Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, not Java
CanalsSuez 1869 (no locks); Panama 1914 (locks); Kiel 1895Panama, not Suez, uses locks and a lake

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Which one of the following continents is crossed by the equator, the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn?

  1. South America
  2. Asia
  3. Africa
  4. Australia
Show answer

Answer: C. Africa

Only Africa is crossed by all three lines. South America is crossed by the equator and the Tropic of Capricorn but not the Tropic of Cancer; Asia by the equator (through Indonesia's islands) and the Tropic of Cancer but not Capricorn; Australia only by the Tropic of Capricorn.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. K2, the world's second highest peak, lies in the Karakoram.
2. The Aravalli are younger than the Himalaya.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Aravalli are among the oldest fold mountains on Earth, far older than the young Himalaya. So '2 only' and 'Both' are wrong, and 'Neither' rejects a true statement.

Q3. Which of the following rivers end in an inland water body rather than the open sea?
1. Volga
2. Danube
3. Amu Darya
4. Rhine
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. 1 and 3 only
  2. 1, 2 and 3 only
  3. 2 and 4 only
  4. 3 and 4 only
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 and 3 only

The Volga ends in the Caspian and the Amu Darya in the Aral, both inland. The Danube reaches the Black Sea and the Rhine the North Sea, both arms of the open ocean, so any option with 2 or 4 is wrong.

Q4. Which one of the following is the deepest lake in the world?

  1. Caspian Sea
  2. Lake Superior
  3. Lake Baikal
  4. Lake Victoria
Show answer

Answer: C. Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal in Siberia is the deepest and oldest lake. The Caspian is the largest by area, Superior the largest freshwater lake by area, and Victoria the largest lake in Africa; none of them is the deepest.

Q5. Consider the following pairs:
Grassland : Region
1. Pampas : Argentina
2. Veld : Australia
3. Steppes : Eurasia
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

  1. 1 only
  2. 1 and 3 only
  3. 2 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3
Show answer

Answer: B. 1 and 3 only

Pairs 1 and 3 are correct. Pair 2 is wrong: the Veld is in South Africa, while Australia's temperate grasslands are the Downs. '1 only' misses pair 3, and the options with pair 2 are wrong.

Q6. The Atacama and the Namib deserts are dry mainly because:

  1. They lie in the rain shadow of high mountains
  2. Cold ocean currents flow along their coasts
  3. They lie far from any sea
  4. They lie on the equator
Show answer

Answer: B. Cold ocean currents flow along their coasts

Both are coastal deserts on western coasts, kept dry by the cold Peru and Benguela currents. Rain shadow explains Patagonia, distance from the sea explains the Gobi, and the equatorial belt is wet, not dry.

Q7. Match List I (Strait) with List II (Waters it joins):
List I: A. Hormuz B. Bab-el-Mandeb C. Malacca D. Palk
List II: 1. Red Sea and Gulf of Aden 2. Bay of Bengal and Palk Bay 3. Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman 4. Andaman Sea and South China Sea
Select the correct code:

  1. A-1, B-3, C-4, D-2
  2. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
  3. A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
  4. A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
Show answer

Answer: B. A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

Hormuz joins the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the Bab-el-Mandeb the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, Malacca the Andaman Sea and the South China Sea, and Palk the Bay of Bengal and Palk Bay. The first option swaps Hormuz and Bab-el-Mandeb, the third swaps Malacca and Palk, and the fourth swaps Hormuz and Malacca.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The Panama Canal uses locks to lift ships to Gatun Lake.
2. The Nine Degree Channel separates the Andaman Islands from the Nicobar Islands.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the Ten Degree Channel separates Andaman from Nicobar, while the Nine Degree Channel separates the main Lakshadweep group from Minicoy. So '2 only' and 'Both' are wrong, and 'Neither' rejects a true statement.

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