Geography MCQs for UPSC Prelims
Q1. In the context of the tribal geography of the Bastar region, the term 'Abujhmadiya' is used for which one of the following?
- A. The Madia, Gond, Muria and Hill Muria communities of Abujhmad, taken together
- B. The cycle of shifting cultivation practised on the hill slopes of Abujhmad
- C. The unsurveyed forest tract of Abujhmad lying west of the Indravati river
- D. The council of village elders regulating customary forest use in Abujhmad
Q2. Purse seine nets, which encircle a shoal and are then closed at the bottom by drawing in a purse line, are used almost exclusively to catch which one of the following categories of fish?
- A. Pelagic shoaling fish such as sardines, mackerels and tunas
- B. Demersal bottom-dwelling fish such as soles and threadfin breams
- C. Benthic shellfish such as crabs, lobsters and clams
- D. Anadromous fish ascending rivers from the sea to spawn
Q3. Marine Fishing Regulation Acts, enacted on the basis of a model bill circulated by the Union Government in 1979, govern fishing within the territorial waters of India's maritime States and Union Territories. How many such coastal States and Union Territories does India have?
Q4. Which one of the following was the principal consideration behind fixing India's standard time at a half-hour rather than a whole-hour offset from Greenwich?
- A. It was a midpoint between the two whole-hour zones proposed for India, adopted in place of a two-zone scheme
- B. It corresponded to the local mean time of Calcutta, then the capital of British India, which was retained as the national standard
- C. It matched the timetable reference already used by the railways at Bombay, which was extended to the whole of British India
- D. It was fixed so as to keep India's clocks aligned with the standard meridian adopted by neighbouring Nepal
Q5. Consider the following statements regarding the evolution of Indian Standard Time as a uniform time reference:
1. The meridian of 82°30′ E, passing near Mirzapur, was announced as the basis of Indian Standard Time by Viceroy Lord Curzon.
2. Indian Standard Time was formally adopted by the British authorities with effect from 1 January 1906.
3. Calcutta continued to keep its own local time and shifted to Indian Standard Time only in 1948.
4. Bombay was the earliest of the presidency capitals to abandon its local time, switching to Indian Standard Time well before Calcutta did.
Which of the above is/are NOT correct?
- The meridian of 82°30′ E, passing near Mirzapur, was announced as the basis of Indian Standard Time by Viceroy Lord Curzon.
- Indian Standard Time was formally adopted by the British authorities with effect from 1 January 1906.
- Calcutta continued to keep its own local time and shifted to Indian Standard Time only in 1948.
- Bombay was the earliest of the presidency capitals to abandon its local time, switching to Indian Standard Time well before Calcutta did.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 4 only
- D. 2 and 4
Q6. Which one of the following SCO member States is the largest landlocked country in the world by area?
- A. The Republic of Uzbekistan
- B. The Republic of Kazakhstan
- C. The Republic of Tajikistan
- D. The Republic of Belarus
Q7. Consider the following statements regarding recent inter-State water arrangements brokered at the Union level:
1. The Rajasthan–Haryana agreement of June 2026 provides for conveying Rajasthan's share of Yamuna waters through underground pipelines from the Western Yamuna Canal, that share deriving from the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on the Upper Yamuna Basin.
2. Unlike the Yamuna arrangement, the Bihar–Jharkhand Memorandum of Understanding on the Sone created an entirely new allocation, wholly independent of any pre-existing inter-State agreement.
3. The consensus reached on the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project involves six States, namely Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Rajasthan–Haryana agreement of June 2026 provides for conveying Rajasthan's share of Yamuna waters through underground pipelines from the Western Yamuna Canal, that share deriving from the 1994 Memorandum of Understanding on the Upper Yamuna Basin.
- Unlike the Yamuna arrangement, the Bihar–Jharkhand Memorandum of Understanding on the Sone created an entirely new allocation, wholly independent of any pre-existing inter-State agreement.
- The consensus reached on the Kishau Multipurpose Dam Project involves six States, namely Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 1 and 3 only
- C. 2 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q8. In the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Bihar and Jharkhand on the Sone, the quantum of 7.75 MAF that was divided between the two States denotes which one of the following?
- A. The total quantum of Sone waters apportioned among the basin States by the tri-State agreement of 1973
- B. The quantum that the tri-State agreement of 1973 had allotted to the then undivided State of Bihar
- C. The quantum assessed as additionally available in the Sone basin after the reorganisation of Bihar in the year 2000
- D. The quantum that the tri-State agreement of 1973 had allotted to the upper riparian State of Madhya Pradesh
Q9. Which one of the following tributaries of the Sone has been dammed to create a large reservoir supplying hydroelectric power?
- A. The Kanhar, from which a share of the Sone basin waters was assigned to a basin State in 1973
- B. The Gopad, which drains the northern slopes of the Sone valley in Madhya Pradesh
- C. The North Koel, which drains the Chota Nagpur plateau on the southern flank of the Sone
- D. The Rihand, which drains the northern flank of the Sone valley
Q10. Under the Bansagar Agreement of 1973, which one of the following States received the second-largest allocation of Sone waters?
- A. Bihar, then undivided, whose entitlement was drawn partly from the storage of the Bansagar Dam
- B. Uttar Pradesh, whose entitlement included a component drawn from the river Kanhar
- C. Madhya Pradesh, whose entitlement combined upstream, downstream and dam-storage components
- D. Odisha, whose entitlement was drawn from the lower reaches of the Sone basin
Q11. The 'Bansagar Agreement' referred to in the context of river water apportionment in India denotes which one of the following?
- A. A 1973 accord among Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar apportioning the waters of the Sone basin, including storage created in the Sone valley
- B. A 1973 accord between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra apportioning the waters of the Narmada basin and the power benefits of a joint storage project
- C. A 1956 accord among the Ganga basin States constituting a statutory River Board for the Sone valley with powers to regulate withdrawals
- D. A 1994 memorandum among the basin States allocating utilisable surface flows of the Upper Yamuna and providing for a joint monitoring body
Q12. Chile shares its land boundary with how many countries?
- A. One
- B. Two
- C. Three
- D. Four
Q13. Samarkand and the historic centre of Bukhara in Uzbekistan are inscribed as properties under the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning the protection of cultural and natural heritage. The decision to inscribe a property under this Convention is taken by which one of the following?
- A. The World Heritage Committee, the intergovernmental body established under the Convention
- B. The UNESCO General Conference, the plenary body composed of all UNESCO member states
- C. ICOMOS, the advisory body that evaluates cultural nominations made under the Convention
- D. The UNESCO Executive Board, which oversees the organisation's programme between sessions
Q14. With reference to Uzbekistan, which one of the following statements is correct?
- A. It is the largest country of Central Asia by area, ahead of Kazakhstan
- B. It is the only Central Asian country that shares a land border with Afghanistan
- C. It is one of only two countries in the world every one of whose neighbours is itself landlocked
- D. It is the only Central Asian state that is a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Q15. The Kosi is known in Nepal as the Saptakoshi. Consider the following:
1. Arun — rises to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet and forms the main stream of the Kosi.
2. Tamur — joins the main stream from the east.
3. Karnali — the westernmost of the constituent streams that merge to form the Saptakoshi.
4. Sun Kosi — joins the main stream from the west.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified as constituents of the Saptakoshi?
- Arun — rises to the north of Mount Everest in Tibet and forms the main stream of the Kosi.
- Tamur — joins the main stream from the east.
- Karnali — the westernmost of the constituent streams that merge to form the Saptakoshi.
- Sun Kosi — joins the main stream from the west.
- A. 1 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1, 3 and 4 only
- D. 1, 2 and 4 only
Q16. The magnitude-5.2 signal registered by the United States Geological Survey at the time of the August 2026 Rasuwa disaster is best understood as which one of the following?
- A. A tectonic rupture along the Main Central Thrust which, in turn, dislodged the ice mass from the slope above
- B. An aftershock of the 2015 earthquake, which alone had destabilised every slope in the surrounding catchment
- C. The seismic signature produced by the mass movement of ice and rock itself, rather than by any tectonic event
- D. Ground shaking generated entirely by the sudden collapse of the debris barrier obstructing the Lhende Khola
Q17. The highway section running between Betrawati and Rasuwagadhi, damaged at multiple points along its entire length by the August 2026 flood surge, extends over approximately how many kilometres?
- A. About 12 km
- B. About 27 km
- C. About 42 km
- D. About 58 km
Q18. With reference to the river system and setting of the area struck by the August 2026 Himalayan flash flood, consider the following:
1. The Lhende Khola, into which the ice-and-rock debris descended, is a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river.
2. The Bhote Koshi of this district feeds into the Trishuli river.
3. The Trishuli unites with the Kali to form the river that is known as the Narayani up to the Indian border.
4. Rasuwa district lies along Nepal's international boundary with the Indian State of Sikkim.
Which of the above is/are correctly identified?
- The Lhende Khola, into which the ice-and-rock debris descended, is a tributary of the Bhote Koshi river.
- The Bhote Koshi of this district feeds into the Trishuli river.
- The Trishuli unites with the Kali to form the river that is known as the Narayani up to the Indian border.
- Rasuwa district lies along Nepal's international boundary with the Indian State of Sikkim.
- A. 1, 2 and 3 only
- B. 2 and 4 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 3 and 4 only
Q19. In the analysis of Himalayan glacial-lake hazards, the term 'moraine' refers to which one of the following?
- A. The terminal ice cliff at a glacier's snout from which blocks calve into the water body lying in front of it
- B. The debris-mantled surface of a glacier tongue on which meltwater ponds form and gradually merge
- C. An accumulation of unconsolidated debris, rock, sand and clay that has been deposited by a moving glacier
- D. A ridge of solid bedrock left exposed by glacier retreat that impounds meltwater in the valley behind it
Q20. Consider the following descriptions of terms used in the study of Himalayan glacial-lake hazards:
1. Supraglacial lake — a water body that forms on the surface of a debris-covered glacier as small meltwater ponds expand and coalesce.
2. Moraine-dammed lake — the lake type that has accounted for the largest number of recorded glacial lake outburst flood events in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
3. Ice-dammed lake — a lake impounded behind a ridge of bedrock left exposed by the retreat of a glacier.
4. Permafrost — ground consisting of soil, sediment or rock that has remained frozen continuously for at least two years.
Which of the above is/are NOT correctly described?
- Supraglacial lake — a water body that forms on the surface of a debris-covered glacier as small meltwater ponds expand and coalesce.
- Moraine-dammed lake — the lake type that has accounted for the largest number of recorded glacial lake outburst flood events in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
- Ice-dammed lake — a lake impounded behind a ridge of bedrock left exposed by the retreat of a glacier.
- Permafrost — ground consisting of soil, sediment or rock that has remained frozen continuously for at least two years.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 3 only
- C. 2 and 4
- D. 1, 3 and 4
Q21. The institution whose assessments of Hindu Kush Himalayan ice loss and of the August 2026 avalanche are widely cited is ICIMOD. Which one of the following correctly describes its founding basis and character?
- A. A regional intergovernmental knowledge centre set up in 1981 by agreement between the Government of Nepal and UNESCO, serving eight member countries
- B. A specialised agency of the United Nations created in 1981 under a General Assembly resolution, open to all mountain states as members
- C. A regional body constituted in 1981 under the SAARC charter framework, with membership confined to the association's South Asian states
- D. A regional office of the United Nations Environment Programme opened in 1981, reporting to its governing body on Asian mountain ecosystems
Q22. The Hindu Kush Himalaya region is described as feeding how many major river basins?
- A. Six
- B. Eight
- C. Ten
- D. Fourteen
Q23. South Lhonak, the Sikkim lake that burst in October 2023, is classified as a proglacial lake. Such a lake is best described as one that occupies which of the following positions?
- A. A basin lying immediately in front of a glacier snout, commonly impounded by the moraine the glacier deposited
- B. A shallow water body ponded on the upper ice surface of a glacier, deepened by absorbed solar radiation
- C. A cavity of meltwater held beneath the glacier bed and sealed by the overlying weight of ice
- D. A depression in frozen ground beyond the ice margin, kept water-filled by a seasonally thawing active layer
Q24. Among the glacial lakes of the Indian Himalayas identified through long-term satellite imagery as having notably expanded, which one of the following dam types accounts for the largest number of such lakes?
- A. Moraine-dammed lakes, impounded behind ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited by a formerly larger glacier
- B. Ice-dammed lakes, the only category in the Himalaya whose barrier can fail catastrophically
- C. Erosion-based lakes, which invariably drain gradually and never breach their confining rim
- D. Bedrock-dammed lakes, which are permanently stable because their barrier is solid rock
Q25. Musandam, which forms the southern shore of the Strait of Hormuz, is best described as which one of the following?
- A. An exclave of Oman on the Arabian Peninsula, cut off from the rest of Omani territory by the United Arab Emirates
- B. An enclave of the United Arab Emirates lying wholly surrounded by the territory of the Sultanate of Oman
- C. A condominium on the Arabian Peninsula jointly administered by Oman and Iran under a bilateral seabed agreement
- D. An island group belonging to Iran situated at the mouth of the Persian Gulf close to the island of Qeshm
Q26. Consider the following statements comparing major maritime chokepoints:
1. The Strait of Malacca, which links the Andaman Sea with the South China Sea, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade.
2. The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through it.
3. Bab el-Mandeb is the busiest of these chokepoints in global oil trade, ranking ahead of both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- The Strait of Malacca, which links the Andaman Sea with the South China Sea, accounts for about 30 per cent of all global trade.
- The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, and about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passes through it.
- Bab el-Mandeb is the busiest of these chokepoints in global oil trade, ranking ahead of both the Strait of Hormuz and the Strait of Malacca.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q27. The build-up of which one of the following semi-permanent pressure systems is the principal source of the cross-equatorial low-level flow known as the Somali Jet, whose establishment precedes the onset of the southwest monsoon?
- A. The Azores High, a semi-permanent anticyclone over the eastern North Atlantic near 30°N
- B. The Mascarene High, a high-pressure belt between about 25°S and 35°S in the southern Indian Ocean
- C. The Siberian High, a cold-season anticyclone centred over the interior of central Asia
- D. The Tibetan anticyclone, an upper-tropospheric system over the Tibetan Plateau in summer
Q28. According to the India Meteorological Department, how much rainfall, and over what extent of area, must be recorded for an event to be classified as a cloudburst?
- A. 50 mm of rainfall in one hour, irrespective of the area over which it falls
- B. 100 mm of rainfall in twenty-four hours over an area of about 20–30 sq km
- C. 100 mm of rainfall in one hour over an area of about 20–30 sq km
- D. Any rainfall exceeding 200 mm in a day, wherever in the country it occurs
Q29. Consider the following statements about the 2026 southwest monsoon season in India as compared with the preceding year:
1. Kharif sowing as on 10 July 2026, at about 53 million hectares, was around 16 per cent lower than the area covered on the corresponding date a year earlier.
2. Rainfall in June 2026 was about 40 per cent below normal, making it the fifth-driest June for the country in a century.
3. Every one of the 111 high-priority districts flagged by the Government as vulnerable to El Niño was already rainfall-deficient by the middle of July 2026.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Kharif sowing as on 10 July 2026, at about 53 million hectares, was around 16 per cent lower than the area covered on the corresponding date a year earlier.
- Rainfall in June 2026 was about 40 per cent below normal, making it the fifth-driest June for the country in a century.
- Every one of the 111 high-priority districts flagged by the Government as vulnerable to El Niño was already rainfall-deficient by the middle of July 2026.
- A. 1 and 2 only
- B. 2 and 3 only
- C. 1 and 3 only
- D. 1, 2 and 3
Q30. During the 2026 southwest monsoon season, which one of the following States recorded the largest share of its area under drought conditions?
- A. Manipur
- B. Jharkhand
- C. Meghalaya
- D. Chhattisgarh