The Himalayan mountain system formed mainly after the Indian Plate collided with which plate?
A The Pacific Plate
B The African Plate
C The Eurasian Plate
D The Antarctic Plate
The northward-moving Indian Plate collided with the Eurasian Plate, raising the Himalayas.
Which ancient sea lay between the Indian and Eurasian landmasses before the Himalayas formed?
A The Tethys Sea
B The Arabian Sea
C The Caspian Sea
D The Red Sea
The Tethys Sea once separated the Indian landmass from Eurasia; its sediments were later compressed and uplifted.
Which peak marks the sharp western bend of the Himalayan arc?
A Namcha Barwa
B Anamudi
C Guru Shikhar
D Nanga Parbat
The Himalayas make a sharp bend near Nanga Parbat at the western end of the arc.
Which peak marks the sharp eastern bend of the Himalayan arc?
A Nanga Parbat
B Namcha Barwa
C Doddabetta
D Dhupgarh
The eastern Himalayan arc turns sharply near Namcha Barwa in Tibet.
About how long is the Himalayan arc?
A 2,400 kilometres
B 400 kilometres
C 750 kilometres
D 5,800 kilometres
The Himalayan mountain arc is about 2,400 kilometres long.
Where is the Himalayan belt at its broadest?
A Arunachal Pradesh
B Tamil Nadu
C Kashmir
D The Kutch region
The Himalayas are broadest in Kashmir, where their width is about 400 kilometres.
Where is the Himalayan belt at its narrowest?
A Kashmir
B Arunachal Pradesh
C Rajasthan
D Kerala
The Himalayan belt narrows to about 150 kilometres in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Trans-Himalayan ranges lie mainly to the north of which main Himalayan range?
A The Shiwalik Range
B The Aravalli Range
C The Eastern Ghats
D The Himadri or Great Himalaya
The Trans-Himalayan ranges, including Karakoram and Ladakh, lie north of the Great Himalaya.
Which major thrust marks the boundary between the Greater Himalaya and the Lesser Himalaya?
A The Main Boundary Thrust
B The Himalayan Frontal Thrust
C The Karakoram Fault
D The Main Central Thrust
The Main Central Thrust separates the Greater Himalayan rocks from the Lesser Himalaya in the standard regional model.
Which major thrust separates the Lesser Himalaya from the outer or Shiwalik Himalaya?
A The Main Central Thrust
B The Main Boundary Thrust
C The South Tibetan Detachment
D The Indus Suture
The Main Boundary Thrust marks the structural boundary between the Lesser Himalaya and the outer Himalaya.
Which thrust marks the southern front of the Himalayan mountain belt?
A The Main Frontal Thrust
B The Main Central Thrust
C The Indus Suture Zone
D The South Tibetan Detachment
The Main Frontal Thrust is the southernmost major thrust along the Himalayan front.
The Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone records the collision between which two plates?
A The African and South American plates
B The Pacific and Antarctic plates
C The Indian and Eurasian plates
D The Arabian and African plates
The Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone marks the former collision boundary between India and Eurasia.
Which process lets some Himalayan rivers cut deep gorges across rising mountain ranges?
A Tidal erosion
B Antecedent drainage
C Coral growth
D Wind deposition
Some rivers existed before mountain uplift and kept cutting downward as the Himalayas rose; this is called antecedent drainage.
Why does the Himalayan region remain tectonically active?
A The region is moving away from every plate
B The mountains are built only by river deposits
C The Himalayas lie on a stable ocean floor
D The Indian Plate continues to move toward Eurasia
The Indian Plate continues to converge with Eurasia, so the Himalayan region remains tectonically active.
The Central Highlands generally slope toward which direction?
A South and southwest
B Only west
C North and northeast
D Only south
The Central Highlands slope generally toward the north and northeast.
What is the approximate general elevation range of the Central Highlands?
A 700 to 1,000 metres
B 70 to 100 metres
C 2,500 to 3,500 metres
D 5,000 to 6,000 metres
The Central Highlands are generally about 700–1,000 metres above mean sea level.
Which group names the northeastern extension of the Peninsular Plateau?
A Malwa, Bundelkhand, and Baghelkhand
B Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong, and North Cachar
C Nilgiri, Anaimalai, and Palani
D Ladakh, Zanskar, and Karakoram
The northeastern plateau extension includes the Meghalaya, Karbi-Anglong, and North Cachar regions.
Geologists link the fault near the Malda Gap mainly to which movement?
A The westward movement of the African Plate
B The sinking of the Pacific Plate
C The northeastward movement of the Indian Plate
D The movement of the Antarctic Plate
The northeastward movement of the Indian Plate is thought to have helped create a fault separating the Meghalaya region from the main plateau.
Which range marks the northern boundary of much of the Deccan Plateau?
A The Shiwalik Range
B The Aravalli Range
C The Karakoram Range
D The Satpura Range
The Satpura Range forms the broad northern boundary of the Deccan Plateau.
Which hill range is at the eastern end of the Satpura system near Amarkantak?
A The Maikal Range
B The Khasi Hills
C The Dhauladhar Range
D The Shevaroy Hills
The Maikal Hills lie at the eastern end of the Satpura system near Amarkantak.
Which river rises in the Aravalli region and flows west toward the Rann of Kutch?
A The Betwa
B The Kaveri
C The Luni
D The Brahmaputra
The Luni rises near the Aravalli region in Rajasthan and flows west toward the Rann of Kutch.
The Deccan Traps formed mainly during which broad geological period?
A During the recent Ice Age
B Near the end of the Cretaceous
C In the Jurassic only
D During the present Holocene
The large Deccan volcanic outpourings occurred near the end of the Cretaceous, around 66 million years ago.
How did most of the Deccan Trap lava reach the surface?
A Only from one tall central cone
B Through coral reefs
C By river flooding
D Through long fissures in the crust
Much of the Deccan basalt erupted from long fissures rather than one central volcanic cone.
Why does the Deccan Trap landscape often have step-like slopes?
A Many layers of lava flows weather at different rates
B It is made only of loose beach sand
C Glaciers carved regular stairs
D The plateau is built from coral terraces
Repeated lava layers weather differently and can form stepped slopes, which is why the region is called the Deccan Traps.
Which Peninsular river has the largest drainage basin?
A The Godavari
B The Kaveri
C The Mahi
D The Periyar
The Godavari has the largest drainage basin among the rivers of Peninsular India.
Which two major rivers rise near Amarkantak and then flow in opposite directions?
A The Krishna and the Kaveri
B The Narmada and the Son
C The Mahi and the Sabarmati
D The Ganga and the Yamuna
The Narmada flows west from the Amarkantak region, while the Son flows generally east toward the Ganga.
Which river is most closely associated with the northern part of the Chota Nagpur Plateau?
A The Kaveri
B The Sutlej
C The Damodar
D The Luni
The Damodar flows through the Chota Nagpur region and its valley.
In the Deccan region, what role do the Western Ghats play in river drainage?
A They block every river from flowing east
B They carry all rivers into the Himalayas
C They are a river delta
D They form a major watershed ridge
The Western Ghats form a watershed; many Peninsular rivers rise there and flow east across the plateau.
Kalsubai is the highest peak of which state?
A Karnataka
B Maharashtra
C Meghalaya
D Himachal Pradesh
Kalsubai, in the Western Ghats, is the highest peak in Maharashtra.
Mullayanagiri is the highest peak of which state?
A Karnataka
B Rajasthan
C Assam
D Bihar
Mullayanagiri in the Western Ghats is the highest peak in Karnataka.