Earth landforms and Geomorphology Gk Questions

Correct Answer:-B ( 16 degree Celsius )
Description:-  The average temperature on Earth is about 61o F (16o C). But temperatures vary greatly around the world depending on the time of year, ocean and wind currents and weather conditions. Summers tend to be warmer and winters colder. Also, temperatures tend to be higher near the equator and lower near the poles.

Correct Answer:-A ( It is 180° Longitude )
Description:-  The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth, that runs from the north to the South Pole and demarcates one calendar day from the next. It passes through the middle of the Pacific Ocean, roughly following the 180° longitude but it deviates to pass around some territories and island groups. From the north, the date line first deviates to the east of 180° to pass to the east of Russia’s Wrangel Island and the Chukchi Peninsula which is the easternmost part of Russian Siberia. The date line then passes through the Bering Strait between the Diomede Islands at a distance of 1.5 km from each island. The line then bends considerably southwest, passing west of St. Lawrence Island and St. Matthew Island. It then passes midway between Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and Russia’s Commander Islands before returning southeast to 180°. Thus all of Siberia is to the west of the International Date Line, and all of Alaska is to the east of that line.

Correct Answer:-B ( 66½° )
Description:-  During the June solstice the Earth’s North Pole is tilted 23.5 degrees towards the Sun relative to the circle of illumination. This phenomenon keeps all places above latitude of 66.5 degrees N in 24 hours of sunlight, while locations below latitude of 66.5 degrees are in darkness.

Correct Answer:-A ( Colorado River )
Description:-  The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in the United States in the state of Arizona. It is contained within and managed by Grand Canyon National Park, the Hualapai Tribal Nation, and the Havasupai Tribe. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area. A number of processes combined to create the views that we see in today’s Grand Canyon. The most powerful force to have an impact on the Grand Canyon is erosion, primarily by water (and ice) and second by wind. Other forces that contributed to the Canyon’s formation are the course of the Colorado River itself, volcanism, continental drift and slight variations in the earth’s orbit which in turn causes variations in seasons and climate.

Correct Answer:-C ( of the effect of both the offshore easterly trade winds and cold ocean currents. )
Description:-  Extensive deserts occur in the western tropical regions of continents because of the effect of both the offshore easterly trade winds and cold ocean currents. Most deserts arise due to atmospheric wind conditions. Other deserts result from the effects of ocean currents on landmasses, where cool air masses carry fog and mist, but little rain, along coastal regions. World desert map depicts the location of all the deserts of the world. … They are centered along the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The heart of the tropical desert climate is found near the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, usually toward the western side of the continents.

Correct Answer:-A ( Himalayas )
Description:-  Around 200 million years ago (also known as the Middle Permian Period), an extensive sea stretched along the latitudinal area presently occupied by the Himalayas. This sea was named the Tethys. Around this period, the super continent Pangaea began to gradually split into different land masses and move apart in different directions.

Correct Answer:-D ( Gully )
Description:-  Chambal ravine formation significantly increases soil loss from agricultural lands and severely impacts agricultural productivity. A review of ephemeral gully erosion and spreading rates of the ravenous tracks of Lower Chambal Valley using geospatial tools shows that both the ravenous and the marginal lands have increased during the last 15 years.

Correct Answer:-A ( Indus gorge to Dihang gorge )
Description:-  The Himalayas, geologically young and structurally fold mountains stretch over the northern borders of India. These mountain ranges run in a west-east direction from the Indus to the Brahmaputra. The Brahmaputra marks the eastern most boundary of the Himalayas. Beyond the Dihang gorge, the Himalayas bend sharply to the south and spread along the eastern boundary of india.

Correct Answer:-C ( Collision of earth plates )
Description:-  An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. The world’s earthquakes are not randomly distributed over the Earth’s surface. They tend to be concentrated in narrow zones. An explanation is to be found in plate tectonics, a concept which has revolutionized thinking in the Earth’s sciences. Plate tectonics tells us that the Earth’s rigid outer shell (lithosphere) is broken into a mosaic of oceanic and continental plates which can slide over the plastic asthenosphere, which is the uppermost layer of the mantle. The plates are in constant motion. Where they interact, along their margins, important geological processes take place, such as the formation of mountain belts, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

Correct Answer:-B ( Equator )
Description:-  A great circle, also known as an orthodrome or Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center. The equator is the circle that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole. It divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Of the parallels or circles of latitude, it is the longest, and the only ‘great circle’ (in that it is a circle on the surface of the earth, centered on the center of the earth). All the other parallels are smaller and centered only on the earth’s axis.

Correct Answer:-A ( Glacier )
Description:-  A hanging valley is a tributary valley with the floor at a higher relief than the main channel into which it flows. They are most commonly associated with Ushaped valleys when a tributary glacier flows into a glacier of larger volume. The main glacier erodes a deep U-shaped valley with nearly vertical sides while the tributary glacier, with a smaller volume of ice, makes a shallower U-shaped valley. Since the surfaces of the glaciers were originally at the same elevation, the shallower valley appears to be ‘hanging’ above the main valley

Correct Answer:-D ( Deserts )
Description:-  A mushroom rock, also called rock pedestal or a pedestal rock, is a naturally occurring rock whose shape, as its name implies, strikingly resembles a mushroom. Usually found in desert areas, these rocks are formed over thousands of years when wind erosion of an isolated rocky outcrop progresses at a different rate at its bottom to that at its top.

Correct Answer:-A ( Deccan Trap )
Description:-  The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province located on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India (between 17°–24°N, 73°–74°E) and one of the largest volcanic features on Earth. They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than 2,000 m (6,562 ft) thick and cover an area of 500,000 km2 (193,051 sq mi) and a volume of 512,000 km3 (123,000 cu mi). The term “trap”, used in geology for such rock formations, is derived from the Swedish word for stairs and refers to the steplike hills forming the landscape of the region.

Correct Answer:-D ( Gully )
Description:-  Chambal ravine formation significantly increases soil loss from agricultural lands and severely impacts agricultural productivity. A review of ephemeral gully erosion and spreading rates of the ravenous tracks of Lower Chambal Valley using geospatial tools shows that both the ravenous and the marginal lands have increased during the last 15 years.

Correct Answer:-D ( Slate )
Description:-  From depth of burial by continual sediment deposition from above, or from compressional stress from tectonic plate collisions, shale is metamorphosed into slate over periods of millions of years. During this compression, the clay minerals making up the shale decompose as they become unstable in the high pressure environment, and their chemical components are gradually transformed into minerals that are more stable in the newly forming higher pressure environment.

Correct Answer:-B ( On the western margins of the Tropics )
Description:-  The deserts lie in the belt of the trade winds which blow from northeast in the northern hemisphere and southeast in the southern hemisphere. There-fore, the general direction of the trade winds is from the east to west. These winds shed their moisture on the eastern margins of the continents and by the time they reach the west they have lost their moisture. The hot desert climate is found around the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, usually on the west side of continents. Examples are the Thar Desert in Pakistan and the Atacama desert in Chile.

Correct Answer:-A ( Earth is titled towards the sun in the Northern Hemisphere )
Description:-  The winter in the Southern Hemisphere occurs when the Northern hemisphere is tilted more toward the Sun. From the perspective of an observer on the Earth, the winter Sun has a lower maximum altitude in the sky than the summer Sun.

Correct Answer:-D ( Limestone )
Description:-  Marble is a non-foliated metamorphic rock composed of re-crystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the term “marble” to refer to metamorphosed limestone. Marble is a rock resulting from metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, most commonly limestone or dolomite rock. Metamorphism causes variable recrystallization of the original carbonate mineral grains. The resulting marble rock is typically composed of an interlocking mosaic of carbonate crystals. Primary sedimentary textures and structures of the original carbonate rock (protolith) have typically been modified or destroyed.

Correct Answer:-C ( Nepal )
Description:-  Overall, the Himalayan mountain system is the world’s highest, and is home to the world’s highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders. The Mount Everest is the highest peak having elevation of 8848 m and is situated in East of Kathmandu on Sagarmatha Zone Nepal. Mount Everest is the Earth’s highest mountain, with a peak at 8,848 metres above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international border between China and Nepal runs across the precise summit point.

Correct Answer:-C ( both igneous and sedimentary rocks )
Description:-  Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have “morphed” into another kind of rock. These rocks were once igneous or sedimentary rocks. How do sedimentary and igneous rocks change? The rocks are under tons and tons of pressure, which fosters heat build-up, and this causes them to change. If you exam metamorphic rock samples closely, you’ll discover how flattened some of the grains in the rock are.

Correct Answer:-A ( earthquake )
Description:-  The epicenter is the point on the Earth’s surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates. In the case of earthquakes, the epicenter is directly above the point where the fault begins to rupture, and in most cases, it is the area of greatest damage. However, in larger events, the length of the fault rupture is much longer, and damage can be spread across the rupture zone..

Correct Answer:-A ( 23 1 2 ° )
Description:-  The Earth is rotating around an axis (called its rotational axis). Some objects rotate about a horizontal axis, like a rolling log. Some objects, such as a skater, rotate about a vertical axis. The Earth’s axis is tipped over about 23.5° from vertical.

Correct Answer:-A ( Sedimentary rock )
Description:-  Dolomite a sedimentary rock resembling limestone but consisting principally of the mineral dolomite. It is an important source of magnesium and its compounds, and is used as a building material and refractory. Dolomite is used as an ornamental stone, a concrete aggregate, a source of magnesium oxide and in the Pidgeon process for the production of magnesium. It is an important petroleum reservoir rock, and serves as the host rock for large stratabound Mississippi Valley-Type (MVT) ore deposits of base metals such as lead, zinc, and copper. Where calcite limestone is uncommon or too costly, dolomite is sometimes used in its place as a flux for the smelting of iron and steel. Large quantities of processed dolomite are used in the production of float glass.

Correct Answer:-C ( throws water and steam at regular intervals )
Description:-  A geyser is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase (steam). The word geyser comes from Geysir, the name of an erupting spring at Haukadalur, Iceland; that name, in turn, comes from the Icelandic verb geysa, “to gush”, the verb itself from Old Norse.

Correct Answer:-B ( Granite )
Description:-  Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ignis meaning fire) is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic rock. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. Igneous rock may form with or without crystallization, either below the surface as intrusive (plutonic) rocks or on the surface as extrusive (volcanic) rocks. This magma can be derived from partial melts of pre-existing rocks in either a planet’s mantle or crust. Typically, the melting is caused by one or more of three processes: an increase in temperature, a decrease in pressure, or a change in composition. Granite is the best-known igneous rock. Many people recognize granite because it is the most common igneous rock found at Earth’s surface and because granite is used to make many objects that we encounter in daily life.

Correct Answer:-B ( Four minutes )
Description:-  The first of these ideas is the relationship between time and the rotation of the Earth. It takes an average time of 24 hours for the Earth to rotate 360 degrees. If you divide the number degrees in a circle by the number of hours in a day, we find that the Earth turns 15 degrees each hour.360° / 24 hours = 15° per hour. We can take this a step further and state that the Earth turns one degree in four minutes.1 hour = 60 minutes / 15° = 4 minutes per degree

Correct Answer:-C ( Savanah )
Description:-  Tropical grasslands (Savannas) are located near the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. They cover much of Africa as well as large areas of Australia, South America, and India. They are found in tropical wet and dry climates. These areas are hot year-round, usually never dropping under 64 degrees Farenheit. Although these areas are overall very dry, they do have a season of heavy rain. Annual rainfall is from 20-50 inches per year. It is crucial that the rainfall is concentrated in six or eight months of the year, followed by a long period of drought when fires can occur. Savannas are associated with several types of biomes. Savannas are frequently in a transitional zone between forest and desert or grassland. Savanna covers approximately 20%’ of the Earth’s land area.

Correct Answer:-D ( generation of hydro power )
Description:-  The prospect of producing electricity from the hydrological resources of the Plateau region lies not, as has been suggested, in the ‘region’s fast flowing rivers’. The flow rate of most rivers in the region is relatively slow. However, the sloped topography of the plateau itself provides enormous capacity to generate electricity. All existing and planned hydropower projects in the region are based on the simple engineering principle of utilizing gravity to generate energy from the region’s rivers. The steep escarpments found in the south-eastern portion of the region provide the natural topographical mechanism to subject the region’s water resources to the energy-producing force of gravity.

Correct Answer:-A ( Lava and magma both have gas )
Description:-  Highly viscous lava tends to entrap gas, which form vesicles (bubbles) within the rock as they rise to the surface. Lava with low viscosity tends to easily release bubbling gases as they are formed. Lavas also may contain many other components, sometimes including solid crystals of various minerals, fragments of exotic rocks known as xenoliths and fragments of previously solidified lava. Volcanic eruptions are caused by magma (a mixture of liquid rock, crystals, and dissolved gas) expelled onto the Earth’s surface. At depth in the Earth nearly all magmas contain gas dissolved in the liquid, but the gas forms a separate vapor phase when pressure is decreased as magma rises toward the surface of the Earth. This is similar to carbonated beverages which are bottled at high pressure. The high pressure keeps the gas in solution in the liquid. Gas gives magmas their explosive character, because volume of gas expands as pressure is reduced.

Correct Answer:-A ( Loess )
Description:-  Loess is an Aeolian sediment formed by the accumulation of wind-blown silt, typically in the 20– 50 micrometer size range, twenty percent or less clay and the balance equal parts sand and silt that are loosely cemented by calcium carbonate. It is usually homogeneous and highly porous and is traversed by vertical capillaries that permit the sediment to fracture and form vertical bluffs. The word loess, with connotations of origin by winddeposited accumulation, is of German origin and means “loose.” It was first applied to Rhine River valley loess about 1821.