UPSC Prelims 2019 Geography questions: topic-wise weightage
UPSC Prelims 2019 asked 8 geography questions in GS Paper I, spread over 4 topics. See the geography weightage for 2019 below, then attempt each question with the official answer and an explanation.
Geography 2019: questions by topic
- Climate and oceans2
- India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon2
- India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population3
- World geography and places in the news (mapping)1
Counted from the 8 questions on this page, tagged by topic in the Battle IAS PYQ bank.
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Climate and oceans 2
On 21st June, the Sun
Answer (a) & explanation
On 21 June the Sun does not set at the Arctic Circle (a). On the June solstice, the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun, and the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer (23.5°N) at noon. So places on and north of the Arctic Circle (66.5°N) have 24 hours of daylight, the "midnight sun". Option (b) is wrong because the Antarctic Circle has 24 hours of darkness then. Option (c) is wrong because the Sun is overhead at the equator only at the equinoxes (about 21 March and 23 September). Option (d) is wrong because it is overhead at the Tropic of Capricorn on about 22 December.
Notice that 21 June is also International Yoga Day, chosen as the year's longest day in the north.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Why are dewdrops not formed on a cloudy night?
Answer (b) & explanation
Clouds reflect the Earth's radiation back (b). Dew forms when the ground loses heat at night by sending out long-wave radiation, cooling the air touching it below its dew point. The water vapour then condenses into drops. On a cloudy night, clouds send much of this outgoing radiation back to the ground, so the surface stays warm and does not cool to the dew point. Option (a) is only partly true, since clouds absorb and re-radiate the heat, but the key's answer is the return of heat. Option (c) is wrong because cloudy nights are warmer. Option (d) is wrong because clouds do not deflect wind.
Clear, calm nights with moist air give the heaviest dew. Notice the same idea in winter frost and radiation fog over North India.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India: relief, rivers, lakes and monsoon 2
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?
Answer (a) & explanation
Pairs 1 and 2 are correct (a). Pandharpur, in Maharashtra's Solapur district, is home to the Vithoba (Vitthal) temple. It stands on the Bhima river, which is called the Chandrabhaga there because it curves like a crescent moon. Tiruchirappalli, with the Srirangam temple on its river island, lies on the Cauvery. Pair 3 is wrong because Hampi, the Vijayanagara capital, is on the Tungabhadra. The Malaprabha flows past Aihole, Pattadakal and Badami, the Chalukya temple sites.
Notice the Pandharpur Wari, the yearly foot pilgrimage of the Warkaris on Ashadhi Ekadashi, carrying the padukas of Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram. Srirangam's Ranganathaswamy temple has one of Asia's tallest gopurams.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Glacier | River
| 1. Bandarpunch | Yamuna
| 2. Bara Shigri | Chenab
| 3. Milam | Mandakini
| 4. Siachen | Nubra
| 5. Zemu | Manas
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (a) & explanation
Pairs 1, 2 and 4 are correct (a). Bandarpunch glacier in Uttarakhand feeds the Yamuna (1). Bara Shigri, the largest glacier in Himachal Pradesh, feeds the Chandra, which becomes the Chenab (2). Siachen in Ladakh is the source of the Nubra river (4). Pair 3 is wrong because the Milam glacier is the source of the Goriganga, while the Mandakini rises from Chorabari glacier near Kedarnath. Pair 5 is wrong because the Zemu glacier, Sikkim's largest, feeds the Teesta, not the Manas.
Notice the risks: the South Lhonak glacial lake outburst in Sikkim (2023) destroyed the Chungthang dam on the Teesta. Siachen is the world's highest battlefield, held by India since Operation Meghdoot (1984).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
India: soils, vegetation, agriculture, minerals, energy, industry, population 3
Which one of the following groups of plants was domesticated in the ‘New World’ and introduced into the ‘Old World’?
Answer (a) & explanation
Tobacco, cocoa and rubber came from the New World (a). After Columbus (1492), plants moved between continents in the Columbian exchange. Tobacco, cocoa and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis, from the Amazon) were all domesticated in the Americas, along with maize, potato, tomato, chillies, cashew, papaya and pineapple. Option (b) is wrong because cotton was domesticated separately in both worlds, including the Indus Valley. Option (c) is wrong because coffee came from Ethiopia and sugarcane from New Guinea and South Asia. Option (d) is wrong because wheat came from the Fertile Crescent in West Asia.
Notice that the Portuguese brought chillies, tobacco, potato and cashew to India. Henry Wickham took rubber seeds from Brazil to Kew in 1876, spreading it to Asia.
Cotton was domesticated in both the Old and the New World, so any option that includes it is unsafe.
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Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is common to the places known as Aliyar, Isapur and Kangsabati?
Answer (d) & explanation
All three are water reservoirs (d). Aliyar reservoir is in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu, at the foot of the Anamalai hills, and is part of the Parambikulam–Aliyar project shared with Kerala. Isapur dam is on the Penganga river in Maharashtra's Yavatmal–Hingoli area. Kangsabati dam, at Mukutmanipur, is in West Bengal's Bankura district. None of them is a uranium deposit (a), rainforest (b) or cave system (c).
UPSC often picks reservoirs from different states to test map knowledge. Notice India's largest reservoirs: Indira Sagar (Narmada, MP) by storage, and the Hirakud dam, among the world's longest earthen dams. The Dam Safety Act, 2021 now covers about 6,000 large dams.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
With reference to the management of minor minerals in India, consider the following statements :
- 1. Sand is a ‘minor mineral’ according to the prevailing law in the country.
- 2. State Governments have the power to grant mining leases of minor minerals, but the powers regarding the formation of rules related to the grant of minor minerals lie with the Central Government.
- 3. State Governments have the power to frame rules to prevent illegal mining of minor minerals.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Answer (a) & explanation
Statements 1 and 3 are correct (a). Statement 1 is right because sand used for ordinary purposes is a minor mineral under Section 3(e) of the MMDR Act, 1957. Other minor minerals include stone, gravel and clay. Statement 2 is wrong because, under Section 15, the state governments both grant leases and make the rules for minor minerals. The Centre does this for major minerals. Statement 3 is right because, under Section 23C, states can frame rules to prevent illegal mining, transport and storage of minerals.
Notice the 2023 change: offshore areas are covered by a separate law, the Offshore Areas Mineral Act, with sand blocks auctioned from 2024–25. Illegal sand mining is a recurring issue in Bihar, UP and Punjab.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
World geography and places in the news (mapping) 1
Consider the following pairs :
| Sea | Bordering country
| 1. Adriatic Sea | Albania
| 2. Black Sea | Croatia
| 3. Caspian Sea | Kazakhstan
| 4. Mediterranean Sea | Morocco
| 5. Red Sea | Syria
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (b) & explanation
Pairs 1, 3 and 4 are correct (b). Albania lies on the Adriatic Sea (1), facing Italy. Kazakhstan borders the Caspian Sea (3), the world's largest inland water body, along with Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Morocco has coasts on both the Mediterranean (4) and the Atlantic. Pair 2 is wrong because Croatia is on the Adriatic, not the Black Sea, which borders Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Pair 5 is wrong because Syria's coast is on the Mediterranean, not the Red Sea.
Notice the news: Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping (2023–25) forced ships around Africa. The Black Sea grain corridor is key in the Russia–Ukraine war.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
All years by topic
Every question from 2011 to 2026, grouped by syllabus topic, with year-wise trends.