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The correct answer is Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Key Points

• Rich placer deposits of gold are indeed found on the Ghana coast, and gold-bearing veins are found in Brazil. Both regions have a significant history of gold mining and production.
• The concept that these continents were once joined together along the Atlantic coast is based on the theory of continental drift and plate tectonics.
• This theory suggests that the Earth's continents were once part of a supercontinent called Pangaea and have since drifted apart.
• This movement of continents explains the geological similarities between regions on opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, such as similar rock formations, fossil evidence, and geological features.
• The idea that Africa and South America were once connected and have since separated is supported by extensive geological and paleontological evidence.
• So, the assertion and the reason are both correct, and Reason (R) is a valid explanation for Assertion (A).

The correct answer is a - 3, b - 4, c - 1, d - 2.

Key Points

The correct answer is Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve.

Key Points

• The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve
• It covers an area of 1,050,000 hectares on the southeast coast of India across from Sri Lanka.
• It is one of the world’s richest regions from a marine biodiversity perspective.
• It comprises 21 islands with estuaries, beaches, forests of the nearshore environment, including a marine component with algal communities, seagrasses, coral reefs, salt marshes and mangroves. Hence, Option 2 is correct.
• Among the Gulf’s 3,600 plant and animal species are the globally endangered sea cow (Dugong dugon) and six mangrove species endemic to peninsular India.
• The inhabitants are mainly Marakeyars, local people principally engaged in fisheries.
• There are about 47 villages along the coastal part of the biosphere reserve which support some 100,000 people (200,000 seasonally as of 2001).
• The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) has provided support to the establishment of the biosphere reserve, including the setting up and functioning of the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Trust, which is responsible for the coordination of the management plan for the biosphere reserve in concertation with government agencies, private entrepreneurs, and local people’s representatives.
• Priority is being given to encouraging community-based management.

The correct answer is 6:00 p.m.

Key Points

• Bhutan is in the Bhutan Time Zone, which is at UTC+6:00. To determine the local time in Thimphu, Bhutan, when the time at Greenwich (0°) is 12:00 noon, you simply need to add 6 hours to the GMT time.
• So, if the time at Greenwich (0°) is 12:00 noon, then the local time in Thimphu (90° East) would be 6:00 PM (18:00).

The correct answer is Mica is found in Kodarma.

Key Points

• Mica is found in Kodarma, which is a district in the Indian state of Jharkhand. Hence statement 2 is correct.
• Kodarma is known for its rich deposits of mica, which is a mineral widely used in various industries, including the electronics and cosmetics industries.
• Mica mining and processing have been important economic activities in the region for many years.
• The Dharwar rock formation is a geological formation that is older than the Archean system, but not as old as the others.
• It was created from 2500 million years ago to 1800 million years ago and is mostly constant.
• The Dharwar rock system is unique in that it is India’s earliest metamorphic sedimentary rocks. It is known as the Dharwar system since it was initially examined in the Karnataka area of Dharwar .
• However, natural gas is not found in the Dharwar rock formation. It is generally found in sedimentary basins, particularly in the areas of marine sediments. Hence statement 1 is incorrect.
• The Cuddapah Series, also known as the Cuddapah Basin or Cuddapah Supergroup, is a geological formation in India. While it is primarily known for its sedimentary rocks**, it does not contain diamonds.**
• The formation is important for its various types of sedimentary rocks, including shale, limestone, and quartzite, and it spans a significant portion of southern India. Hence statement 3 is incorrect.
• Diamonds are typically found in different geological settings, most commonly in kimberlite and lamproite pipes or in alluvial deposits derived from these primary sources.
• South India does have some diamond deposits in areas like Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Tamil Nadu, but these are not directly associated with the Cuddapah Series.
• Petroleum reserves are not typically found in the Aravalli hills. The Aravalli Range, which is a range of mountains located in North India, primarily in the states of Rajasthan and Haryana**, is not known for significant petroleum deposits. Hence statement 4 is incorrect.**
• Petroleum reserves are usually found in sedimentary rock formations, and they are typically located in specific geological regions that have the right conditions for the formation and accumulation of oil and gas over millions of years.

The correct answer is 179.

Key Points 

• If parallels of latitude are drawn at an interval of one degree, there will be 89 parallels in the northern and the southern hemispheres each**. The total number of parallels thus drawn, including the equator, will be 179**
• A latitude line is a line a measure the north-south position of the position relative to the north and south poles.
• The value of the equator is 0° and the latitude of the poles are 90°N and 90°S
• The equator is at the exact center between the poles and is the 0°th latitude line.
• Tropics- The area between the Tropic of Cancer to the Tropic of Capricorn that passes through the Equator is called the Tropics.
• Meridians-are imaginary lines running parallel from North to South and drawn from East to West.
• Longitudes- are basically the Degrees of the meridian. Together these are called the Longitude of Meridian. The degrees range from 180 degrees East to 0 degrees/ Prime Meridian to 180 degrees West.

Additional Information 

• Latitudes- imaginary lines drawn parallelly from East to West running from North to South are called Latitudes. There are seven Important Latitudes that one must remember-
• The 0 Degree or the Equator.
• The 23 1/2 Degree North and 23 1/2 Degree South are called the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, respectively.
• The 66 1/2 Degree North and South is called the Arctic and Antarctic circle, respectively.
• The 90 Degree North and South are called the North pole and South pole, respectively.

The correct answer is 30 m.

Key Points Kosi Plain:

• The Kosi or Koshi is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India.
• It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major confluence of tributaries north of the Chatra Gorge onwards, the Kosi River is also known as Saptakoshi (Nepali: सप्तकोशी, saptakoshī) for its seven upper tributaries.
• These include the Tamur River originating from the Kanchenjunga area in the east and Arun River and Sun Kosi from Tibet.
• The Sun Koshi's tributaries from east to west are Dudh Koshi, Likhu Khola, Tamakoshi River, Bhote Koshi, and Indravati.
• The Saptakoshi crosses into northern Bihar, India where it branches into distributaries before joining the Ganges near Kursela in Katihar district. Kosi is the 3^rd largest tributary of the Ganges by water discharge after Ghaghra and Yamuna.
• The river basin is surrounded by ridges which separate it from the Yarlung Tsangpo River in the north, the Gandaki in the west and the Mahananda in the east.
• The river is joined by major tributaries in the Mahabharat Range approximately 48 km (30 mi) north of the Indo-Nepal border.

The correct answer is Baghelkhand

Key Points

• Bagelkhand or Baghelkhand is a region and also a mountain range in central India that covers the northeastern regions of Madhya Pradesh and a small area of southeastern Uttar Pradesh.
• Surajpur, Chhattisgarh: Out of the total districts in India, Surajpur district in the state of Chhattisgarh is the unique one which is intersected by both the Tropic of Cancer and the Indian Standard Time Meridian.
• This region has a monsoon climate because the Tropic of Cancer passes almost from the middle of the region.
• Here the summers are hot and humid whereas the winters are moderate and dry.
• The average temperature of summer is 35.5°C whereas in winters, it is 12.5°C. Average rainfall in this region is 125 cm.

Additional Information

• The Tropic of Cancer: This is a line of latitude approximately 23.5 degrees north of the Equator.
• As the Earth orbits around the Sun, it's the farthest point north where the Sun appears directly overhead at noon.
• The Tropic of Cancer crosses several countries, including India.
• The Indian Standard Time Meridian: This is 82.5 degrees east longitude that is used as the standard time meridian of India.
• The time along this meridian is considered as the standard time for the whole country.

The correct answer is Almora.

Key Points 

• The total area of the state of Uttarakhand is 53,483 K.M.2, which is about 1.69% of the total area of the country.
• It is the 18^th state of India in terms of area, 86.07% of the total area of the state (46035 KM2) is mountainous and 13.93% of the area (7448 sq km) is plain.
• Uttarakhand has Nepal in the east, Himachal Pradesh in the west, Himalayas and Tibet in the north, and Uttar Pradesh in the south.
• 3 districts of Uttarakhand, Pithoragarh, Champawat, and Udhamsingh Nagar, share their border with Nepal.
• And 3 districts Pithoragarh, Chamoli, and Uttarkashi share the international border of Tibet (China).
• 5 districts Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Dehradun, Pauri Garhwal, and Haridwar share the Uttar Pradesh border, and 2 districts Dehradun and Uttarkashi touch the border of Himachal Pradesh.
• Pithoragarh, the easternmost district of Uttarakhand state, Western District Dehradun, The northern district is Uttarkashi and the southern district is Udham Singh Nagar.
• The border of the Pauri district touches 7 districts of the state, Which include Nainital, Almora, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri, Dehradun, and Haridwar.
• Chamoli and Almora touch the boundaries of 6-6 districts of the state.
• Only 4 districts of the state, Almora, Rudraprayag, Bageshwar, Tehri, do not touch the border of any state and country.
• Pithoragarh is the district with the longest international border.
• Almora district of Uttarakhand is not situated along the Tibbet boundary

The correct answer is The Pacific Ocean.

Key Points

• The El Niño current is not a traditional ocean current like the Gulf Stream or the California Current. Instead, it is part of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern, which involves changes in ocean and atmospheric conditions in the tropical Pacific Ocean.
• During an El Niño event, warm waters from the western Pacific Ocean move eastward and flow along the equator towards the coast of South America. This warm current can disrupt normal weather and ocean patterns, leading to various climate-related effects around the world.
• It's important to note that El Niño is just one phase of the ENSO, with La Niña being its counterpart, where cooler waters dominate the central and eastern Pacific.
• The specific path and strength of the El Niño current can vary from one event to another, but it typically flows from west to east along the equator in the tropical Pacific Ocean, affecting weather and climate patterns in different regions, including the Americas, Australia, and Asia.
• El Nino was first recognized by Peruvian fishermen off the coast of Peru as the appearance of unusually warm water.
• The Spanish immigrants called it El Nino, meaning “the little boy” in Spanish.
• El Nino soon came to describe irregular and intense climate changes rather than just the warming of coastal surface waters.
• The El Nino event is not a regular cycle, they are not predictable and occur irregularly at two- to seven-year intervals.
• The climatologists determined that El Nino occurs simultaneously with the Southern Oscillation.
• The Southern Oscillation is a change in air pressure over the tropical Pacific Ocean.
• When coastal waters become warmer in the eastern tropical Pacific (El Nino), the atmospheric pressure above the ocean decreases.
• Climatologists define these linked phenomena as El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Additional Information Impact of El Nino: In order to understand the concept of El Nino, it’s important to be familiar with non-El Nino conditions in the Pacific Ocean.

• Normally, strong trade winds blow westward across the tropical Pacific, the region of the Pacific Ocean located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• Impact on Ocean: El Nino also impacts ocean temperatures, the speed and strength of ocean currents, the health of coastal fisheries, and local weather from Australia to South America and beyond.
• Increased Rainfall: Convection above warmer surface waters brings increased precipitation. Rainfall increases drastically in South America, contributing to coastal flooding and erosion.
• Diseases caused by Floods and Droughts: Diseases thrive in communities devastated by natural hazards such as flood or drought.
• El Nino-related flooding is associated with increases in cholera, dengue, and malaria in some parts of the world, while drought can lead to wildfires that create respiratory problems.
• Positive impact: It can sometimes have a positive impact too, for example, El Nino reduces the instances of hurricanes in the Atlantic.
• In South America: As El Nino brings rain to South America, it brings droughts to Indonesia and Australia.