Geography: UPSC Prelims previous year questions

Consider the following information:

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

On June 21 every year, which of the following latitude(s) experience(s) a sunlight of more than 12 hours?

1. Equator
2. Tropic of Cancer
3. Tropic of Capricorn
4. Arctic Circle

Select the correct answer using the code given below :

Which of the following is/are correct inference/inferences from isothermal maps in the month of January?.

1. The isotherms deviate to the north over the ocean and to the south over the continent.
2. The presence of cold ocean currents, Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Drift make the North Atlantic Ocean colder and the isotherms bend towards the north. Select the answer using the code given below :

Consider the following countries :

1. Italy
2. Japan
3. Nigeria
4. South Korea
5. South Africa

Which of the above countries are frequently mentioned in the media for their low birth rates, or ageing population or declining population?

With reference to "water vapour", which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is a gas, the amount of which decreases with altitude.
2. Its percentage is maximum at the poles. Select the answer using the code given below :

Which of the following countries are well known as the two largest cocoa producers in the world?

Consider the following pairs: Country - Animal found in its natural habitat

1. Brazil - Indri
2. Indonesia - Elk
3. Madagascar - Bonobo

How many of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?

The longest border between any two countries in the world is between :

Consider the following countries :

1. Finland
2. Germany
3. Norway
4. Russia

How many of the above countries have a border with the North Sea?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: Sumed pipeline is a strategic route for Persian Gulf oil and natural gas shipments to Europe.

Statement-II: Sumed pipeline connects the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following airports:

1. Donyi Polo Airport
2. Kushinagar International Airport
3. Vijayawada International Airport In the recent past, which of the above have been constructed as Greenfield projects?

With reference to "Coriolis force", which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It increases with increase in wind velocity.
2. It is maximum at the poles and is absent at the equator. Select the answer using the code given below :

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: Thickness of the troposphere at the equator is much greater as compared to poles.

Statement-II: At the equator, heat is transported to great heights by strong convectional currents.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements :

1. The Red Sea receives very little precipitation in any form.
2. No water enters the Red Sea from rivers.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the Himalayan rivers joining the Ganga downstream of Prayagraj from West to East, which one of the following sequences is correct?

Consider the following information :

In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?

Consider the following :

1. Cashew
2. Papaya
3. Red sanders

How many of the above trees are actually native to India?

Consider the following:

1. Pyroclastic debris
2. Ash and dust
3. Nitrogen compounds
4. Sulphur compounds

How many of the above are products of volcanic eruptions?

Consider the following description:

1. Annual and daily range of temperatures is low.
2. Precipitation occurs throughout the year.
3. Precipitation varies between 50 cm - 250 cm. What is this type of climate?

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I: Rainfall is one of the reasons for weathering of rocks.

Statement-II: Rain water contains carbon dioxide in solution.

Statement-III: Rain water contains atmospheric oxygen.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

With reference to the Earth's atmosphere, which one of the following statements is correct?

With reference to India's projects on connectivity, consider the following statements:

1. East-West Corridor under Golden Quadrilateral Project connects Dibrugarh and Surat.
2. Trilateral Highway connects Moreh in Manipur and Chiang Mai in Thailand via Myanmar.
3. Bangladesh-China- India-Myanmar Economic Corridor connects Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh with Kunming in China.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: The soil in tropical rain forests is rich in nutrients.

Statement-II: The high temperature and moisture of tropical rain forests cause dead organic matter in the soil to decompose quickly.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements :

Statement-I: The temperature contrast between continents and oceans is greater during summer than in winter.

Statement-II: The specific heat of water is more than that of land surface.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Which one of the following is the best example of repeated falls in sea level, giving rise to present-day extensive marshland?

Which one of the following is a part of the Congo Basin?

Consider the following trees:

1. Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus)
2. Mahua (Madhuca indica)
3. Teak (Tectona grandis)

How many of the above are deciduous trees?

About three-fourths of world's cobalt, a metal required for the manufacture of batteries for electric motor vehicles, is produced by

Ilmenite and rutile, abundantly available in certain coastal tracts of India, are rich sources of which one of the following?

Consider the following statements:

1. Jhelum River passes through Wular Lake.
2. Krishna River directly feeds Kolleru Lake
3. Meandering of Gandak River formed Kanwar Lake.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

Consider the following statements:

Statement-I: India, despite having uranium deposits, depends on coal for most of its electricity production.

Statement-II: Uranium, enriched to the extent of at least 60% is required for the production of electricity.

Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?

Consider the following statements:

1. Amarkantak Hills are at the confluence of Vindhya and Sahyadri Ranges.
2. Biligirirangan Hills constitute the easternmost part of Satpura Range.
3. Seshachalam Hills Constitute the southernmost part of Western Ghats.

How many of the statements given above the correct?

Consider the following countries:

1. Bulgaria
2. Czech Republic
3. Hungary
4. Latvia
5. Lithuania
6. Romania

How many of the above-mentioned countries share a land border with Ukraine?

With reference to coal-based thermal power plants in India, consider the following statements :

1. None of them uses seawater.
2. None of them is set up in water-stressed district.
3. None of them is privately owned.

How many of the above statements are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. In a seismograph, P waves are recorded earlier than S waves.
2. In P waves, the individual particles vibrate to and fro in the direction of wave propagation whereas in S waves, the particles vibrate up and down at right angles to the direction of wave propagation.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The term "Levant" often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions?

In the northern hemisphere, the longest day of the year normally occurs in the:

Consider the following countries:

1. Azerbaijan
2. Kyrgyzstan
3. Tajikistan
4. Turkmenistan
5. Uzbekistan

Which of the above have borders with Afghanistan?

Consider the following pairs:

Which of the statements given above is/are correctly matched?

Consider the following statements:

1. High clouds primarily reflect solar radiation and cool the surface of the Earth.
2. Low clouds have a high absorption of infrared radiation emanating from the Earth's surface and thus cause a warming effect.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following pairs: Region often mentioned in the news - Country

1. Anatolia – Turkey
2. Amhara – Ethiopia
3. Cabo Delgado – Spain
4. Catalonia – Italy

How many pairs given above are correctly matched?

Consider the following pairs: Reservoirs — States

1. Ghataprabha — Telangana
2. Gandhi Sagar — Madhya Pradesh
3. Indira Sagar — Andhra Pradesh
4. Maithon — Chhattisgarh

How many pairs given above are not correctly matched?

Consider the following States:

1. Andhra Pradesh
2. Kerala
3. Himachal Pradesh
4. Tripura

How many of the above are generally known as tea-producing States?

With reference to India, consider the following statements:

1. Monazite is a source of rare earths.
2. Monazite contains thorium.
3. Monazite occurs naturally in the entire Indian coastal sands in India.
4. In India, Government bodies only can process or export monazite.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Gandikota canyon of South India was created by which one of the following rivers?

The vegetation of savannah consists of grassland with scattered small trees, but extensive areas have no trees. The forest development in such areas is generally kept in check by one or more or a combination of some conditions. Which of the following are such conditions?

1. Burrowing animals and termites
2. Fire
3. Grazing herbivores
4. Seasonal rainfall
5. Soil properties

Select the correct answer using the codes given below

Consider the following statements:

1. Moringa (drumstick tree) is a leguminous evergreen tree.
2. Tamarind tree is endemic to South Asia.
3. In India, most of the tamarind is collected as minor forest produce.
4. India exports tamarind and seeds of moringa.
5. Seeds of moringa and tamarind can be used in the production of biofuels.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

With reference to India, Didwana, Kuchaman, Sargol and Khatu are the names of

Consider the following rivers:

1. Brahmani
2. Nagavali
3. Subarnarekha
4. Vamsadhara

Which of the above rise from the Eastern Ghats?

Consider the following statements:

1. In the tropical zone, the western sections of the oceans are warmer than the eastern sections owing to the influence of trade winds.
2. In the temperate zone, westerlies make the eastern sections of oceans warmer than the western sections.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to the Indus river system, of the following four rivers, three of them pour into one of them which joins the Indus direct. Among the following, which one is such river that joins the Indus direct?

"Leaf litter decomposes faster than in any other biome and as a result the soil surface is often almost bare. Apart from trees, the vegetation is largely composed of plant forms that reach up into the canopy vicariously, by climbing the trees or growing as epiphytes, rooted on the upper branches of trees". This is the most likely description of

The black cotton soil of India has been formed due to the weathering of

With reference to the water on the planet Earth, consider the following statements:

1. The amount of water in the rivers and lakes is more than the amount of groundwater.
2. The amount of water in polar ice caps and glaciers is more than the amount of groundwater.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The crop is subtropical in nature. A hard frost is injurious to it. It requires at least 210 frost-free days and 50 to 100 centimetres of rainfall for its growth. A light well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture is ideally suited for the cultivation of the crop. Which one of the following is that crop?

With reference to pulse production in India, consider the following statements:

1. Black gram can be cultivated as both kharif and rabi crop.
2. Green-gram alone accounts for nearly half of pulse production.
3. In the last three decades, while the production of kharif pulses has increased, the production of rabi pulses has decreased.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. Jet streams occur in the Northern Hemisphere only.
2. Only some cyclones develop an eye.
3. The temperature inside the eye of a cyclone is nearly 10°C lesser than that of the surroundings.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Consider the following pairs:

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?

With reference to Ocean Mean Temperature (OMT), which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. OMT is measured up to a depth of 26°C isotherm which is 129 meters in the south-western Indian Ocean during January-March.
2. OMT collected during January-March can be used in assessing whether the amount of rainfall in monsoon will be less or more than a certain long-term mean.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Consider the following minerals:

1. Bentonite
2. Chromite
3. Kyanite
4. Sillimanite In India, which of the above is/are officially designated as major minerals?

Siachen Glacier is situated to the

With reference to the current trends in the cultivation of sugarcane in India, consider the following statements:

1. A substantial saving in seed material is made when 'bud chip settlings' are raised in a nursery and transplanted in the main field.
2. When direct planting of setts is done, the germination percentage is better with singlebudded setts as compared to setts with many buds.
3. If bad weather conditions prevail when setts are directly planted, single-budded setts have better survival as compared to large setts.
4. Sugarcane can be cultivated using settlings prepared from tissue culture.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following pairs: Famous place : River

1. Pandharpur : Chandrabhaga
2. Tiruchirappalli : Cauvery
3. Hampi : Malaprabha

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Consider the following pairs:

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Consider the following states:

1. Chhattisgarh
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Maharashtra
4. Odisha With reference to the States mentioned above, in terms of percentage of forest cover to the total area of State, which one of the following is the correct ascending order?

On 21st June, the Sun

With reference to the cultivation of Kharif crop in India in the last five years, consider the following statements:

1. Area under rice cultivation is the highest.
2. Area under the cultivation of jowar is more than that of oilseeds.
3. Area of cotton cultivation is more than that of sugarcane.
4. Area under sugarcane cultivation has steadily decreased.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

Why are dewdrops not formed on a cloudy night?

Consider the following pairs :

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

What is common to the places known as Aliyar, Isa pur and Kangsabati?

Consider the following statements:

1. The Earth's magnetic field has reversed every few hundred thousand years.
2. When the Earth was created more than 4000 million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.
3. When living organisms originated, they modified the early atmosphere of the Earth.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Among the following cities, which one lies on a longitude closest to that of Delhi?

Consider the following statements:

1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian territory.
2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements -

1. Most of the world's coral reefs are in tropical waters.
2. More than one-third of the world's coral reefs are located in the territories of Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
3. Coral reefs host far more number of animal phyla than those hosted by tropical rainforests.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. In India, State Governments do not have the power to auction non-coal mines.
2. Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand do not have gold mines.
3. Rajasthan has iron ore mines.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which one of the following is an artificial lake?

At one of the places in India if you stand on the seashore and watch the sea, you will find that the sea water recedes from the shoreline a few kilometres and comes back to the shore, twice a day, and you can actually walk on the sea floor when the water recedes. This unique phenomenon is seen at -

The Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries?

1. Jordan
2. Iraq
3. Lebanon
4. Syria

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

If you travel by road from Kohima to Kottayam, what is the minimum number of States within India through which you can travel, including the origin and the destination?

Which of the following is geographically closest to Great Nicobar?

With reference to river Teesta, consider the following statements:

1. The source of river Teesta is the same as that of Brahmaputra but it flows through Sikkim.
2. River Rangeet originates in Sikkim and it is a tributary of river Teesta.
3. River Teesta flows into Bay of Bengal on the border of India and Bangladesh.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following statements:

1. In India, the Himalayas are spread over five States only.
2. The Western Ghats are spread over five States only.
3. Pulicat Lake is spread over two States only.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

With reference to 'Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)' sometimes mentioned in the news while forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. IOD phenomenon is characterized by a difference in sea surface temperature between tropical Western Indian Ocean and tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.
2. An IOD phenomenon can influence El Nino's impact on the monsoon.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an artificial inland port to be connected to the sea by a long navigational channel?

Recently, linking of which of the following rivers was undertaken?

Which of the following is/are tributary/tributaries of Brahmaputra?

1. Dibang
2. Kameng
3. Lohit

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

In which of the following regions of India are shale gas resources found?

1. Cambay Basin
2. Cauvery basin
3. Krishna-Godavari Basin

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Which one of the following regions of India has a combination of mangrove forest, evergreen forest and deciduous forest?

In a particular region in India, the local people train the roots of the living trees into robust bridges across the streams. As time passes these bridges become stronger. These unique 'Living Root Bridges' are found in -

In India the steel production industry requires the import of

Consider the following statements:

1. The winds that blow between 30 degrees N and 60 degrees S latitudes throughout the year are known as westerlies.
2. The moist air masses that cause winter rains in the North-Western region of India are part of westerlies.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

In India, in which one of the following types of forests is teak a dominant tree species?

Tides occur in oceans and seas due to which among the following?

1. Gravitational Force of the Sun
2. Gravitational Force of the Moon
3. Centrifugal force of the Earth

Select the correct answer using the code given below

Consider the following States:

1. Arunachal Pradesh
2. Himachal Pradesh
3. Mizoram In which of the following states do 'Tropical Wet Evergreen Forests' occur?

In the South Atlantic and South Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?

"Each day is more or less the same, the morning is clear and bright with a sea breeze; as the sun climbs high in the sky, heat mounts up, dark clouds form than rain comes with thunder and lightning. But the rain is soon over." Which of the following regions is described in the above passage?

Consider the following rivers :

1. Vamsadhara
2. Indravati
3. Pranahita
4. Pennar

Which of the above are tributaries of Godavari?

What explains the eastward flow of the equatorial counter-current?

Consider the following pairs:

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?

Which of the following pairs of States of India indicates the Easternmost and Westernmost State?

Turkey is located between

Consider the following pairs :

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

Consider these pairs -

1. Cardamom Hills -- Coromandel Coast
2. Kaimur Hills -- Konkan Coast
3. Mahadeo Hills -- Central India
4. Mikir Hills -- North-East India

Which of the above pairs are correctly matched?

What is the correct sequence of occurrence of the following cities in South-East Asia as one proceeds from south to north?

1. Bangkok
2. Hanoi
3. Jakarta
4. Singapore

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

If you travel through the Himalayas, you are likely to see which of the following plants naturally growing there?

1. Oak
2. Rhododendron
3. Sandalwood

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Consider the following pairs

1. Dampa Tiger Reserve: Mizoram
2. Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary: Sikkim
3. Saramati Peak: Nagaland

Which of the above pairs is /are correctly matched?

The seasonal reversal of winds is the typical characteristic of -

With reference to two non-conventional energy sources called 'coal bed methane' and 'shale gas', consider the following statements:

1. Coal bed methane is the pure methane gas extracted from coal seams, while shale gas is a mixture of propane and butane only that can be extracted from fine-grained sedimentary rocks.
2. In India abundant coal bed methane sources exist, but so far no shale gas sources have been found.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Which of the following phenomena might have influenced the evolution of organisms?

1. Continental drift
2. Glacial cycles

Select the correct answer using the code given below.

Which one of the following pairs of islands are separated from each other by the 'Ten Degree Channel'?

Consider the following rivers:

1. Barak
2. Lohit
3. Subansiri

Which of the above flows / flow through Arunachal Pradesh?

Which of the above pairs is/are correctly matched?

Variations in the length of daytime and nighttime from season to season are due to -

The Narmada river flows to the west, while most other large peninsular rivers flow to the east. Why?

1. It occupies a linear rift valley.
2. It flows between the Vindhyas and the Satpuras.
3. The land slopes to the west from Central India.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

On the planet earth, most of the freshwater exists as ice caps and glaciers. Out of the remaining freshwater, the largest proportion

Consider the following:

1. Electromagnetic radiation
2. Geothermal energy
3. Gravitational force
4. Plate Movements
5. Rotation of the earth
6. Revolution of the earth

Which of the above are responsible for bringing dynamic changes on the surface of the earth?

The annual range of temperature in the interior of the continents is high as compared to coastal areas. What is/are the reason/reasons?

1. Thermal difference between land and water
2. Variation in altitude between continents and oceans
3. Presence of strong winds in the interior
4. Heavy rains in the interior as compared to coasts

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Which of the following statements regarding laterite soils of India are correct?

1. They are generally red in colour.
2. They are rich in nitrogen and potash.
3. They are well-developed in Rajasthan and UP.
4. Tapioca and cashew nuts grow well on these soils.

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

Consider the following statements:

1. Natural gas occurs in the Gondwana beds.
2. Mica occurs in abundance in Kodarma.
3. Dharwars are famous for petroleum.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Consider the following crops

1. Cotton
2. Groundnut
3. Rice
4. Wheat Which of these are Kharif crops?

Which of the following is/are unique characteristic/characteristics of equatorial forests?

1. Presence of tall, closely set trees with crowns forming a continuous canopy
2. Coexistence of a large number of species
3. Presence of numerous varieties of epiphytes

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched? Geographical Feature -- Region

Which of the following is/are the characteristic/ characteristics of Indian coal?

1. High ash content
2. Low sulphur content
3. The low ash fusion temperature

Select the correct answer using the codes given below.

The most important fishing grounds of the world are found in the regions where:

"Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders." The above statement best describes which of the following regions?