APPSC Group-1 2019 Geography Previous Year Questions

Ans: (2) a-I, b-II, c-III, d-IV (as per APPSC official final key)

Because the Earth’s axis is tilted at 23½°, the Sun’s overhead position moves between the tropics. In the northern hemisphere:

• Summer solstice – 21 June: Sun overhead at the Tropic of Cancer; longest day.
• Winter solstice – 22 December: Sun overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn; shortest day.
• Vernal (spring) equinox – 21 March and autumnal equinox – 23 September: Sun overhead at the equator; day and night equal everywhere.

So a-I, b-II, c-III, d-IV.

Note:

• Perihelion (closest to Sun): about 3 January; aphelion: about 4 July.
• Seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere.

Ans: (2) Moho (as per APPSC official final key)

Seismic waves change speed at boundaries inside the Earth called discontinuities:

• Mohorovičić (Moho) – between the crust and mantle (about 30–35 km under continents); discovered by Andrija Mohorovičić (1909).
• Conrad – between the upper (sial) and lower (sima) crust.
• Repetti – between the upper and lower mantle.
• Gutenberg – between the mantle and outer core (about 2,900 km).
• Lehmann – between the outer and inner core.

Note:

• S-waves cannot pass through the liquid outer core (shadow zone).
• Asthenosphere lies in the upper mantle.

Ans: (3) Hypsometric curve (as per APPSC official final key)

A hypsometric curve shows the proportion of the Earth’s surface at different heights above and depths below sea level. It is used to show the relief of land and the bottom topography of oceans: continental shelf, slope, deep-sea plains and trenches.

Note:

• Ocean floor features: continental shelf, slope, rise, abyssal plain, trenches.
• Deepest point: Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench (about 11 km).

Ans: (2) USA (as per APPSC official final key)

Yellowstone National Park (1872) in the USA (mostly Wyoming) is the world’s first national park. It lies over a volcanic hotspot and has the largest number of geysers and hot springs in the world, including Old Faithful.

Note:

• A geyser is a hot spring that erupts water and steam at intervals.
• Iceland and New Zealand also have many geysers.

Ans: (4) Mt. Etna (as per APPSC official final key)

Mount Etna in Sicily, Italy, is the highest active volcano in Europe and one of the most active in the world. Mont Blanc (Alps) and Mount Everest (Himalaya) are fold mountains formed by plate collision.

Note:

• Other Italian volcanoes: Vesuvius (destroyed Pompeii, 79 CE), Stromboli (‘lighthouse of the Mediterranean’).
• Barren Island (Andamans) is India’s only active volcano.

Ans: (2) Victoria (as per APPSC official final key)

The Great Lakes of North America on the USA–Canada border are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario (remember “HOMES”). Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by area; Michigan lies entirely within the USA.

Lake Victoria is in Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania); it is the largest lake in Africa and a source of the Nile.

Note:

• Niagara Falls lies between Lakes Erie and Ontario.
• Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world.

Ans: (1) Only A is correct (as per APPSC official final key)

A gorge is a deep, narrow valley with very steep sides, formed by river erosion in hard rock. A canyon is a deep valley with steep, step-like sides, usually found in dry regions with horizontal rock layers, like the Grand Canyon (Colorado river). Both are forms of V-shaped valleys cut by rivers.

A canyon is a variant of a gorge, not the other way round: gorges are not “extended forms of canyons”. So only statement A is correct.

Note:

• U-shaped valleys are formed by glaciers.
• Gandikota is called the ‘Grand Canyon of India’ (Penna river, YSR Kadapa).

Ans: (1) Nitrogen, Oxygen, Argon, CO₂ (as per APPSC official final key)

By volume, dry air contains nitrogen about 78%, oxygen about 21%, argon about 0.93% and carbon dioxide about 0.04%, with traces of neon, helium, methane and others. So the descending order is nitrogen, oxygen, argon, CO₂.

Note:

• Water vapour varies from 0 to 4%.
• Ozone is concentrated at 15–35 km in the stratosphere.

Ans: (1) (ii) and (iii) (as per APPSC official final key)

The tropopause is the transition zone between the troposphere and the stratosphere. It lies above the troposphere and below the stratosphere. Its height is about 17–18 km at the equator and about 8 km at the poles.

Its height also varies with season, but the official key accepts only statements (ii) and (iii).

Note:

• Temperature falls with height in the troposphere at about 6.5°C per km.
• Jet streams blow near the tropopause.

Ans: (1) Rotation of the Earth (as per APPSC official final key)

Because of the rotation of the Earth, moving winds are deflected by the Coriolis force: to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere. This is known as Ferrel’s law. The force is zero at the equator and greatest at the poles.

Note:

• Cyclones rotate anticlockwise in the northern hemisphere.
• Coriolis force is why cyclones do not form within about 5° of the equator.

Ans: (4) Equator (as per APPSC official final key)

The doldrums are a belt of calm winds and low pressure on both sides of the equator (about 5° N to 5° S), where the trade winds converge. This is the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Air rises here, causing heavy convectional rain.

Note:

• Horse latitudes: calm belts around 30° N and S.
• The ITCZ shifts north in July, drawing the Indian monsoon.

Ans: (4) Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea (as per APPSC official final key)

The Suez Canal (opened 1869, about 193 km) in Egypt connects the Mediterranean Sea (Port Said) with the Red Sea (Suez). It shortens the sea route between Europe and Asia by avoiding the Cape of Good Hope. It was nationalised by Egypt in 1956.

Note:

• Panama Canal (1914) links the Atlantic and Pacific.
• Bab-el-Mandeb strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Ans: (2) Humboldt Current (as per APPSC official final key)

Ocean currents are warm if they flow from the equator towards the poles, and cold if they flow from the poles towards the equator.

• Humboldt (Peru) Current – a cold current along the west coast of South America; it supports rich fisheries.
• Agulhas (east Africa), Brazil and Kuroshio (Japan) – warm currents.

Note:

• Cold currents: Labrador, Canary, Benguela, California, Oyashio.
• Cold currents on western coasts create deserts like the Atacama.

Ans: (1) Snow (as per APPSC official final key)

Albedo is the share of sunlight a surface reflects. Fresh snow has the highest albedo, about 80–90%. Sand reflects about 20–40%, grass about 25%, and water very little (under 10% when the Sun is high).

Note:

• Earth’s average albedo is about 30%.
• Melting ice lowers albedo and speeds warming (ice-albedo feedback).

Ans: (4) South Africa (as per APPSC official final key)

The Zulus are a Bantu-speaking people of South Africa, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal. Their kingdom was built by Shaka Zulu in the early 19th century. They are the largest ethnic group of South Africa.

Note:

• Maoris: New Zealand; Aborigines: Australia.
• Bushmen (San): Kalahari desert.

Ans: (2) a-II, b-III, c-I, d-IV (as per APPSC official final key)

Leading producers of these crops, per the key:

• Barley – Uttar Pradesh (with Rajasthan).
• Groundnut – Gujarat.
• Ragi (finger millet) – Karnataka.
• Rice – West Bengal.

So a-II, b-III, c-I, d-IV.

Note:

• Rajasthan has overtaken UP in barley in recent years.
• 2023 was the International Year of Millets.

Ans: (2) Iran (as per APPSC official final key)

Iran is the largest country with a predominantly Shia population (about 90%). Iraq also has a Shia majority (about 60%), but Iran is the clearest example. Pakistan and Afghanistan are mainly Sunni.

Note:

• Other Shia-majority countries: Azerbaijan, Bahrain.
• Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey are mostly Sunni.

Ans: (3) Coal (as per APPSC official final key)

The Karaganda basin in central Kazakhstan is one of the largest coal fields of Central Asia. It developed in the Soviet era to supply steel plants in the Urals.

Note:

• Kuznetsk (Kuzbas) basin in Russia is another major coal field.
• Ruhr (Germany) and Appalachian (USA) are famous coal fields.

Ans: (2) Black Sea (as per APPSC official final key)

The Danube, Europe’s second longest river (about 2,850 km), rises in the Black Forest of Germany and flows east through ten countries, including Austria, Hungary, Serbia and Romania, into the Black Sea. It passes through four capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade.

Note:

• Volga is Europe’s longest river (flows into the Caspian).
• Rhine flows into the North Sea.

Ans: (3) Nomadic pastoralists of South Africa (as per APPSC official final key)

The Khoikhoi, formerly called Hottentots, are the traditional nomadic pastoralists of south-western Africa (South Africa and Namibia). They herded cattle and sheep. They are related to the San (Bushmen), who were hunter-gatherers of the Kalahari.

Note:

• Pygmies live in the Congo rainforest.
• Maasai are pastoralists of Kenya and Tanzania.

Ans: (1) 8 p.m. (as per APPSC official final key)

The Earth turns 360° in 24 hours, so 1° = 4 minutes. Place A (60° W) and place B (90° E) differ by 60 + 90 = 150°, which is 150 × 4 = 600 minutes = 10 hours. B is to the east, so it is ahead: 10 a.m. + 10 hours = 8 p.m.

Note:

• IST meridian: 82°30′ E, 5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT.
• Crossing the International Date Line eastward, a day is repeated.

Ans: (2) GLONASS | United Kingdom (as per APPSC official final key)

Satellite navigation systems and owners:

• GPS – United States.
• GLONASS – Russia, not the United Kingdom.
• Galileo – European Union.
• NavIC (IRNSS) – India; regional coverage up to about 1,500 km beyond India.

Note:

• BeiDou: China; QZSS: Japan (regional).
• NVS-01 (2023) was the first second-generation NavIC satellite.

Ans: (2) Kolleru Lake | Krishna (as per APPSC official final key)

Dams/lakes and rivers:

• Gobind Sagar – Bhakra dam on the Sutlej.
• Ukai – on the Tapi in Gujarat.
• Wular Lake – on the Jhelum, Kashmir; India’s largest freshwater lake.
• Kolleru Lake – a freshwater lake between the Godavari and Krishna deltas, fed by seasonal streams (Budameru, Tammileru). It is not on the Krishna river, so this pair is wrong.

Note:

• Kolleru is a Ramsar site (2002) and a wildlife sanctuary.
• Pulicat is a brackish-water lagoon on the AP–Tamil Nadu border.

Ans: (3) A, B and C (as per APPSC official final key)

El Niño is the periodic warming of the eastern Pacific off the coast of Peru, every 3–7 years. The name means “Christ child” in Spanish, as fishermen noticed the warm water around Christmas. It weakens the trade winds and is linked to weak Indian monsoons; the deficient rainfall of 2014 was linked to El Niño conditions. So all three statements are correct.

Note:

• La Niña (cooling) usually brings good monsoons.
• Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) also affects the monsoon.

Ans: (1) Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt (as per APPSC official final key)

Israel shares land borders with Lebanon (north), Syria (north-east, Golan Heights), Jordan (east) and Egypt (south-west, Sinai). It also borders the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Note:

• Israel was formed on 14 May 1948.
• Dead Sea, the lowest point on land, lies on the Israel–Jordan border.

Ans: (3) 3·3% (as per APPSC official final key)

The crude birth rate and crude death rate are per 1,000 people per year. The rate of natural increase = birth rate − death rate = 44 − 11 = 33 per 1,000. As a percentage this is 33 ÷ 10 = 3.3% per year.

Note:

• India’s CBR (SRS 2021): about 19.3; CDR about 7.5.
• Doubling time ≈ 70 ÷ growth rate (%) – about 21 years at 3.3%.

Ans: (3) Russia, Canada, U.S.A., China (as per APPSC official final key)

The largest countries by area are:

• Russia – about 17.1 million sq km.
• Canada – about 9.98 million sq km.
• USA – about 9.8 million sq km (total area including water).
• China – about 9.6 million sq km.

Then Brazil, Australia and India (7th). The order of the USA and China depends on how water areas are counted; the key uses Russia, Canada, USA, China.

Note:

• India has about 2.4% of the world’s land area.
• Vatican City is the smallest country.

Ans: (2) Caucasus (as per APPSC official final key)

The Caucasus mountains stretch between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, across Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Mount Elbrus (5,642 m) is the highest peak in Europe.

The Urals separate Europe and Asia north of the Caspian; the Alps and Balkans are in Europe.

Note:

• The Caucasus is often taken as part of the Europe–Asia boundary.
• Mont Blanc is the highest peak of the Alps.

Ans: (4) A mountain in America (as per APPSC official final key)

The Sierra Nevada (“snowy range” in Spanish) is a mountain range in the western USA, mainly in California. It has Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous United States, and Yosemite National Park. There is also a Sierra Nevada range in Spain.

Note:

• Rocky Mountains are the main western range of North America.
• Andes are the longest mountain range in the world.

Ans: (3) Mosabani (as per APPSC official final key)

Mosabani (East Singhbhum, Jharkhand) is famous for copper mining (Hindustan Copper), not coal. Raniganj (West Bengal), Umaria (Madhya Pradesh) and Korba (Chhattisgarh) are coal fields of the Gondwana system.

Note:

• Raniganj is India’s oldest coal field (mining from 1774).
• Jharia (Jharkhand) has India’s main coking coal.