UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) General Studies Paper III — Geography and Disaster Management Syllabus

General Studies Paper III — Geography and Disaster Management syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for General Studies Paper III — Geography and Disaster Management in UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Physical Geography

   3 topics

   • Geomorphology
     • Interior of the earth and plate tectonics
     • Landforms and rock systems
   • Climatology
     • Atmosphere, temperature and pressure belts
     • Winds, cyclones and precipitation
   • Oceanography
     • Ocean currents, tides and salinity
2. 2

   Geography of India

   3 topics

   • Physiography and Drainage
     • Himalayan, peninsular and coastal regions
     • River systems and watersheds
   • Climate, Soils and Vegetation
     • Indian monsoon mechanism
     • Soil types and natural vegetation
   • Agriculture and Resources
     • Cropping patterns and irrigation
     • Mineral and energy resources
3. 3

   Human and Economic Geography

   3 topics

   • Population and Settlement
     • Distribution, density and migration
     • Urbanisation and settlement patterns
   • Industrial and Transport Geography
     • Location of industries
     • Transport and communication networks
   • Trade and Regional Development
     • Patterns of internal and external trade
     • Regional planning and development disparities
4. 4

   World Geography and Resource Distribution

   3 topics

   • Continents and Regions
     • Major landforms and climatic regions
   • Location of Resources and Industries
     • Global distribution of key resources
     • Factors affecting industrial location worldwide
   • Maps and Geographical Tools
     • Time zones, latitudes and longitudes
     • Map-based and locational questions
5. 5

   Geophysical Phenomena and Disaster Management

   3 topics

   • Geophysical Phenomena
     • Earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis
     • Cyclones, floods and droughts
   • Disaster Management Framework
     • Disaster Management Act and NDMA
     • Mitigation, preparedness and response
   • Changes in Critical Geographical Features
     • Effects of ice caps, water bodies and flora-fauna changes

General Studies Paper III — Geography and Disaster Management flashcards for UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE)

19 of 52 cards from the General Studies Paper III — Geography and Disaster Management deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In geomorphology, what is the difference between exogenic and endogenic forces?

   Endogenic forces originate inside the Earth (tectonics, volcanism, earthquakes) and build relief; exogenic forces act on the surface (weathering, erosion by water, wind, ice) and wear relief down.

2. What is the Davisian 'cycle of erosion' and its three stages?

   W.M. Davis's model of landscape evolution through youth (steep V-valleys, rapid downcutting), maturity (widest valleys, maximum relief) and old age (peneplain, low gradient), driven by uplift then prolonged erosion.

3. Name and define the four main types of plate boundaries.

   Divergent (plates move apart, new crust forms, e.g. mid-ocean ridges); Convergent (plates collide, subduction or mountain-building); Transform (plates slide past, e.g. San Andreas Fault); and the broad term conservative is used for transform where crust is neither created nor destroyed.

4. What is isostasy?

   The state of gravitational equilibrium of the Earth's crust 'floating' on the denser mantle, so that lighter, thicker continental blocks stand higher and adjust vertically when load is added or removed (e.g. post-glacial rebound).

5. Distinguish a fold mountain, block mountain and volcanic mountain.

   Fold mountains form by compression and folding of strata (Himalayas, Alps); block (fault-block) mountains form when crust is uplifted between faults as a horst (Vosges, Sierra Nevada); volcanic mountains are built by accumulated eruptive material (Mt. Fuji, Kilimanjaro).

6. In fluvial geomorphology, how do an ox-bow lake and a meander relate?

   A meander is a sinuous river bend; continued erosion on the outer bank and deposition on the inner bank narrows the neck until the river cuts across it, abandoning the loop as a crescent-shaped ox-bow lake.

7. What are the standard layers of the Earth's internal structure?

   Crust (thin outer layer), mantle (solid silicate rock, includes the plastic asthenosphere), outer core (liquid iron-nickel, generates the magnetic field) and inner core (solid iron-nickel).

8. Define the troposphere, stratosphere and the location of the ozone layer.

   Troposphere is the lowest layer (~0-12 km) where weather occurs and temperature falls with height; the stratosphere lies above (~12-50 km) where temperature rises with height; the ozone layer sits within the stratosphere (~15-35 km) absorbing UV radiation.

9. What is the normal environmental lapse rate of temperature?

   Temperature in the troposphere falls on average about 6.5°C per 1,000 m (1°C per ~165 m) of altitude — the normal/environmental lapse rate.

10. Differentiate convectional, orographic and cyclonic (frontal) rainfall.

    Convectional: heated air rises, cools and rains (equatorial, summer afternoons). Orographic: moist air forced up a mountain, rains on the windward side leaving a leeward rain-shadow. Cyclonic/frontal: warm and cold air masses meet, warm air is lifted along the front producing rain.

11. What is the Coriolis force and its effect on winds?

    An apparent deflecting force caused by Earth's rotation; it deflects moving air (and water) to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, and is zero at the equator and maximum at the poles.

12. Name the three global tri-cellular circulation cells in each hemisphere.

    The Hadley cell (equator to ~30°), the Ferrel cell (~30° to ~60°) and the Polar cell (~60° to pole).

13. List the major planetary (prevailing) wind belts.

    The Trade winds (subtropical highs toward equator), the Westerlies (subtropical highs toward ~60°) and the Polar Easterlies (polar highs toward ~60°).

14. What is the difference between weather and climate?

    Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a place over a short period (hours to days); climate is the average and range of weather of a region measured over a long period (conventionally 30+ years).

15. In the Köppen climate classification, what do the major letter groups A, B, C, D, E represent?

    A = Tropical (humid), B = Dry (arid/semi-arid), C = Warm temperate (mesothermal), D = Cold/continental (microthermal), E = Polar (ice).

16. Define salinity of ocean water and its average value.

    Salinity is the total dissolved salts in sea water, expressed in parts per thousand (ppt or PSU); the average ocean salinity is about 35 ppt (35 g of salt per kg of water).

17. What are the major divisions of relief on the ocean floor?

    Continental shelf, continental slope, continental rise, the deep abyssal plain, plus features such as mid-oceanic ridges, ocean trenches (deepest), seamounts and submarine canyons.

18. Explain the difference between warm and cold ocean currents with examples.

    Warm currents flow from low to high latitudes carrying warm water (Gulf Stream, Kuroshio), raising coastal temperatures; cold currents flow from high to low latitudes (Labrador, Humboldt/Peru) lowering coastal temperatures and often supporting rich fisheries through upwelling.

19. What causes ocean tides and what are spring and neap tides?

    Tides result from the gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun plus Earth's rotation. Spring tides (highest range) occur at new and full Moon when Sun and Moon align; neap tides (lowest range) occur at the first and third quarters when they are at right angles.

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