Prelims · Geography · 42 questions

World: places, rivers & mapping

Every UPSC Prelims question on this topic, 2016–2026, newest first. Tap an option to check yourself; the answer and explanation open below it.

Asked in 9 of 11 years · most in 2022 (8)

UPSC syllabus: “Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.” See the full syllabus →

Prelims 2018 · Q13

Easy

Which of the following has/have shrunk immensely/dried up in the recent past due to human activities?

1.Aral Sea
2.Black Sea
3.Lake Baikal

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Answer & explanation

Answer: (a) 1 only

Only the Aral Sea fits. From the 1960s the Soviet Union diverted its feeder rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, to irrigate cotton, and the lake that was once the world's fourth largest broke into small remnants. The Black Sea and Lake Baikal have not shrunk in this way.

✓ 1. Irrigation diversions starved the Aral Sea (on the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border) of inflow; satellite images show it was already a fraction of its 1960 extent by 2000.
✗ 2. The Black Sea, a large inland sea linked to the Mediterranean through the Bosporus, faces pollution problems but has not dried up.
✗ 3. Lake Baikal in Siberia, the world's deepest lake, still holds its vast volume of fresh water; it has not shrunk immensely.

Remember · Aral Sea: once the world's fourth-largest lake, fed by the Amu Darya and Syr Darya; shrank drastically after Soviet-era irrigation diversions from the 1960s.

Sources

World of Change: Shrinking Aral Sea, NASA Earth Observatory ↗ “In the 1960s, the Soviet Union undertook a major water diversion project on the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. … The lake they made, the Aral Sea , was once the fourth largest in the world. Although irrigation made the desert bloom, it devastated the Aral Sea.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q18

Easy

Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (d) Yemen and South Sudan

In 2017 the UN formally declared famine in parts of South Sudan, where civil war had wrecked food supply, and warned that war-torn Yemen had more than 17 million people facing severe food insecurity. Both crises were driven by armed conflict.

✓ (d) Famine was declared in parts of South Sudan's Unity region on 20 February 2017, and in March 2017 the UN counted 2.2 million acutely malnourished children in conflict-ridden Yemen.
✗ (c) Venezuela's shortages of food and medicine at the time grew out of an economic collapse rather than a war or ethnic conflict, and neighbouring Colombia saw no famine.
✗ (a) Angola's civil war ended in 2002 and Zambia has had no recent war; neither saw conflict-driven famine around 2017.

Remember · 2017: UN declared famine in South Sudan (Leer and Mayendit, Unity region); Yemen called one of the world's worst hunger crises, 17 million food-insecure.

Sources

Famine declared in region of South Sudan – UN, United Nations Academic Impact (20 February 2017) ↗ “Famine has been formally declared in parts of South Sudan, the United Nations said today, warning that war and a collapsing economy have left some 100,000 people facing starvation there”
Yemen needs urgent assistance to prevent famine - FAO, WFP, UNICEF (UNICEF press release, 15 March 2017) ↗ “Severe food insecurity threatens more than 17 million people in conflict-ridden Yemen, according to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis released by the United Nations and humanitarian partners today.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q37

Easy

Consider the following pairs:

	Towns sometimes mentioned in news	Country
1.	Aleppo	Syria
2.	Kirkuk	Yemen
3.	Mosul	Palestine
4.	Mazar-i-sharif	Afghanistan

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (b) 1 and 4

Aleppo is in Syria and Mazar-i-Sharif is in Afghanistan, so pairs 1 and 4 are correct. Kirkuk and Mosul are both cities of Iraq, not of Yemen or Palestine.

✓ 1. Aleppo is a historic city of Syria; its Ancient City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in that country.
✗ 2. Kirkuk is in Iraq, where its Citadel is on the country's UNESCO tentative list. It is not in Yemen.
✗ 3. Mosul is in Iraq. India's Ministry of External Affairs records that 39 Indian nationals were killed in Mosul, and their remains were brought back from Baghdad in April 2018. It is not in Palestine.
✓ 4. Mazar-i-Sharif (also spelt Mazar-e-Sharif) is one of the main cities of Afghanistan; India has run an Indian Medical Mission there.

Remember · Aleppo: Syria. Mosul and Kirkuk: Iraq. Mazar-i-Sharif: Afghanistan.

Sources

UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Ancient City of Aleppo ↗ “The city's development is being considered under the 'Programme for Sustainable Urban Development in Syria' (UDP), a joint undertaking between international agencies, the Syrian Ministry for Local Administration and Environment”
UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Tentative Lists, Iraq ↗ “States Parties: Iraq close Order by States Parties Iraq Archaeological site of Aqar Quf (ancient Dur-Kurigalzu) 31/01/2025 The Hajj Pilgrimage Routes: The Darb Zubaydah 02/01/2022 Kirkuk Citadel 06/04/2021 Lalish Temple 15/04/2020 Old City of Mosul 17/08/2018”
MEA, India-Iraq Bilateral Brief ↗ “MoS for External Affairs visited Baghdad on April 1-2, 2018 in a Special Aircraft to bring back mortal remains of the 39 Indian nationals who were killed in Mosul.”
MEA, India-Afghanistan: A Development Partnership ↗ “five Indian Medical Missions (IMMs) have been working in Kabul, Herat, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif, attending and disbursing medicines to 30,000 patients per month.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

Prelims 2018 · Q90

Easy

Consider the following pairs:

	Regions sometimes mentioned in news	Country
1.	Catalonia	Spain
2.	Crimea	Hungary
3.	Mindanao	Philippines
4.	Oromia	Nigeria

Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?

Answer & explanation

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Catalonia is in Spain and Mindanao is in the Philippines, so pairs 1 and 3 are right. Crimea is a Black Sea peninsula that belongs to Ukraine, not Hungary, and Oromia is a region of Ethiopia, not Nigeria.

✓ 1. Catalonia is an autonomous community of north-eastern Spain. In October 2017 the Spanish Government announced it would suspend the region's autonomy and impose direct rule, as a UN human-rights expert's statement records; its independence movement kept it in the news.
✗ 2. Crimea, with the port of Sevastopol, is part of Ukraine. Russia took control of it in 2014, and the UN General Assembly called on states not to recognise any change in its status.
✓ 3. Mindanao is the southern island group of the Philippines. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was created there after a 2019 plebiscite under the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
✗ 4. Oromia is a region of Ethiopia; UN experts wrote about protests in the Oromia region of Ethiopia in 2015-16. It is not in Nigeria.

Remember · Catalonia: Spain. Crimea: Ukraine (annexed by Russia in 2014, not recognised by the UN General Assembly). Mindanao: Philippines. Oromia: Ethiopia.

Sources

UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): UN independent expert urges Spanish Government to reverse decision on Catalan autonomy (25 October 2017) ↗ · reference work “following the announcement that the Spanish Government would suspend the region’s autonomy. On 19 October, the Spanish Government announced its intention to impose direct rule on the region”
General Assembly Adopts Resolution Calling upon States Not to Recognize Changes in Status of Crimea Region (UN Meetings Coverage, 27 March 2014; Internet Archive copy) ↗ “the Assembly adopted a resolution titled “Territorial integrity of Ukraine”, calling on States, international organizations and specialized agencies not to recognize any change in the status of Crimea or the Black Sea port city of Sevastopol”
BARMM: Three years of fulfilling the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people (Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity, Government of the Philippines) ↗ “The ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) through the plebiscite held in 2019 paved the way for the creation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)”
UN experts urge Ethiopia to halt violent crackdown on Oromia protesters, ensure accountability for abuses (UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, 21 January 2016) ↗ · reference work “The ‘Master Plan’ could reportedly lead to mass evictions and the seizure of agricultural land in the Oromia region, as well as extensive deforestation.”

Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). Permalink ·

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World: places, rivers & mapping

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Prelims 2018 · Q90

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