Consider the following pairs:
| River | Flows into | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mekong | Andaman Sea |
| 2. | Thames | Irish Sea |
| 3. | Volga | Caspian Sea |
| 4. | Zambezi | Indian Ocean |
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) 3 and 4 only
The Volga drains into the Caspian Sea and the Zambezi empties into the Indian Ocean, so pairs 3 and 4 are correctly matched. The Mekong ends in the South China Sea, not the Andaman Sea, and the Thames flows into the North Sea, not the Irish Sea.
- ✗ 1. The Mekong flows through Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam and drains into the South China Sea, south of Ho Chi Minh City; it does not reach the Andaman Sea.
- ✗ 2. The Thames's fresh water enters the North Sea. The Irish Sea is the arm of the Atlantic that separates Ireland from Great Britain, on the island's western side.
- ✓ 3. The Volga, Russia's great waterway, drains into the Caspian Sea (NCERT).
- ✓ 4. The Zambezi flows east across southern Africa (NCERT places Victoria Falls on it) and empties into the Indian Ocean.
Remember · Volga: Caspian Sea. Zambezi: Indian Ocean. Mekong: South China Sea. Thames: North Sea.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Fundamentals of Human Geography, Ch 7 (practise this chapter) · Class 6 Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Ch 3 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 7 “It provides a navigable waterway of 11,200 km and drains into the Caspian Sea.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Zambezi River ↗ · reference work “The Zambezi flows east for about 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometers) from its source on the Central African Plateau, emptying into the Indian Ocean.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Mekong River ↗ · reference work “The Mekong River flows through Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam before draining into the South China Sea, south of Ho Chi Minh City.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: North Sea ↗ · reference work “Large quantities of fresh water also enter through the Rhine, Thames, and other rivers.”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Irish Sea ↗ · reference work “Irish Sea , arm of the North Atlantic Ocean that separates Ireland from Great Britain.”
- NCERT Class 6 · Exploring Society: India and Beyond, Chapter 3 “The Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, the Hundru Falls on the Subarnarekha River”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2020, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·