UPSC CSE Indian and World Geography Syllabus

Define biome and name two examples.

A biome is a large-scale community of plants and animals adapted to a particular climate. Examples: tropical rainforest, tundra, savanna, desert, taiga (boreal forest).

What is the difference between flora and fauna?

Flora refers to the plant life of a region; fauna refers to the animal life of a region.

What is an endemic species?

A species that is native to and found only in a particular geographic area and nowhere else (e.g., the lion-tailed macaque in the Western Ghats).

Explain ecological succession, distinguishing primary from secondary succession.

Ecological succession is the gradual change of species composition in an area over time. Primary succession starts on barren substrate with no soil (e.g., bare rock, lava); secondary succession occurs where a community was disturbed but soil remains (e.g., after a fire).

What is a biodiversity hotspot, and how many lie in India?

A biodiversity hotspot is a biologically rich region with high endemism that is under severe threat. India has four: the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, the Indo-Burma region, and Sundaland (Nicobar Islands).

Name the major physiographic divisions of India.

(1) The Northern/Himalayan mountains, (2) the Northern (Indo-Gangetic) Plains, (3) the Peninsular Plateau, (4) the Indian Desert (Thar), (5) the Coastal Plains, and (6) the Islands.

Name the three parallel longitudinal ranges of the Himalayas from north to south.

The Himadri (Greater Himalayas, highest), the Himachal (Lesser/Middle Himalayas), and the Shiwaliks (Outer Himalayas, lowest).

What are the Duns/Doons in the Himalayan region?

Longitudinal valleys (flat-floored structural valleys) lying between the Lesser Himalayas and the Shiwaliks, e.g., Dehra Dun, Kotli Dun.

What is the difference between Bhabar and Terai in the Northern Plains?

Bhabar is a narrow porous belt of pebbles/gravel at the Shiwalik foot where streams disappear underground. Terai is the marshy, re-emergent water zone south of the Bhabar with dense forest.

Distinguish Bhangar from Khadar in the alluvial plains.

Bhangar is older alluvium forming higher terraces, often containing calcareous kankar nodules. Khadar is newer alluvium of floodplains, renewed each year by floods and more fertile.

What are the two main divisions of the Peninsular Plateau separated by the Narmada-Tapi rift?

The Central Highlands (north of the Narmada, including the Malwa plateau and Bundelkhand) and the Deccan Plateau (south of the Narmada).

How do the Western Ghats differ from the Eastern Ghats?

The Western Ghats are continuous, higher (avg ~900-1600 m), and can be crossed only through passes; the Eastern Ghats are discontinuous, lower, and eroded/dissected by rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal.

What is the controlling mechanism of India's climate, and which type dominates?

India has a tropical monsoon climate dominated by the seasonal reversal of winds (the monsoon), driven by differential heating of land and sea, the ITCZ shift, and the jet streams.

Name the four main seasons of the Indian climatic year.

(1) Winter/cold weather season (Dec-Feb), (2) Summer/hot weather season (Mar-May), (3) Advancing/Southwest monsoon (Jun-Sep), and (4) Retreating monsoon/post-monsoon (Oct-Nov).

What is the 'burst of the monsoon' and roughly when does the SW monsoon arrive in Kerala?

The sudden, violent onset of the southwest monsoon with abrupt heavy rainfall. It typically reaches the Kerala coast around 1 June.

What are the two branches of the southwest monsoon?

The Arabian Sea branch (strikes the Western Ghats and northwest India) and the Bay of Bengal branch (advances over the northeast and up the Ganga plains).

Why does Cherrapunji/Mawsynram receive extremely high rainfall?

Because the funnel-shaped Khasi Hills (Meghalaya) trap and force the Bay of Bengal monsoon branch to rise, producing intense orographic rainfall; they are among the wettest places on Earth.

What are 'Mango showers' and 'Loo'?

Mango showers are pre-monsoon convectional rains in Kerala/Karnataka (Mar-Apr) that help ripen mangoes. Loo are hot, dry, dust-laden afternoon winds blowing over northern India in May-June.

Name the major types of natural vegetation in India by rainfall.

Tropical evergreen forests (>200 cm rain), tropical deciduous/monsoon forests (100-200 cm), tropical thorn forests and scrub (<70 cm), montane forests (altitude-based), and mangrove (tidal/littoral) forests.

What is the most widespread type of forest in India, and into what two subtypes is it divided?

Tropical deciduous (monsoon) forests are the most widespread. They are divided into moist deciduous (100-200 cm rain, e.g., sal, teak) and dry deciduous (70-100 cm, e.g., tendu, palas).

Where are mangrove forests found in India and name a famous example.

In tidal coastal/deltaic areas; the Sundarbans in the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta (West Bengal) is the largest mangrove forest, famous for the Royal Bengal tiger and Sundari trees.

Which is the most widespread and agriculturally most important soil in India?

Alluvial soil, covering the Northern Plains and river valleys; it is rich in potash and lime and supports intensive agriculture (wheat, rice, sugarcane).

What is black soil (regur), where is it found, and what crop is it ideal for?

Black soil (regur) is clayey, moisture-retentive soil formed from Deccan lava, found mainly in Maharashtra, Gujarat, MP, and the Deccan trap region; it is ideal for cotton (hence 'black cotton soil').

Why is red soil red, and where does it occur in India?

It is red due to iron oxide (ferric) content from crystalline/metamorphic rocks; it occurs in the eastern and southern Deccan, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and parts of the eastern plateau.

What are the characteristics and uses of laterite soil?

Laterite soil forms under high temperature and heavy rainfall by intense leaching, is rich in iron and aluminium but poor in nitrogen and lime, and is used for cashew, tea, coffee, and as brick-making material.

What defines a 'natural region', and name two hot-desert and one equatorial natural region.

A natural region is an area with broadly uniform climate, vegetation, and soil. Hot-desert examples: the Sahara and the Arabian/Thar deserts. Equatorial (hot wet) example: the Amazon (Selvas) region.

Distinguish the Mediterranean natural region from the Steppe (temperate grassland) region by climate and use.

The Mediterranean region has hot dry summers and mild wet winters and is famous for citrus/olive/grape cultivation. The Steppe region (Prairies, Pampas, Veld) has continental climate with grasslands used for extensive wheat farming and ranching.

In human geography, what is the difference between population density and population distribution?

Population density is the number of people per unit area (e.g., persons per sq km). Population distribution describes how the population is spread out (the pattern/arrangement) across space.

What is the demographic transition model's basic idea, and what marks Stage 2?

It describes how a society moves from high to low birth and death rates as it develops. Stage 2 is marked by a rapid fall in death rates while birth rates remain high, causing a population explosion.

Differentiate renewable from non-renewable resources, with one example each, and name a key fossil-fuel-rich Indian region.

Renewable resources can be naturally replenished (e.g., solar, wind, water); non-renewable resources are finite and deplete with use (e.g., coal, petroleum). India's coal is concentrated in the Gondwana fields of the Damodar valley (Jharkhand-West Bengal).