136: The Brahmaputra, Irrawady and Mekong rivers originate in Tibet and flow it through narrow and parallel mountain ranges in their upper reaches. Of these rivers, Brahmaputra makes a "U" turn in its course to flow into India. This "U" turn is due to
(a) Uplift of folded Himalayan series
(b) Syntaxial bending of geologically young Himalayas
(c) Geo-tectonic disturbance in the tertiary folded mountain chains
(d) Both (a) and (b) above
Explanation:
The Brahmaputra river follows an odd channel to flow to the sea. It flows towards east for almost half of its length in mountainous Tibet an then takes a U-turn to enter plains in Assam. Ultimately, it enters Bangladesh towards South and meets the Ganges before reaching the sea. The place where it takes a U-turn, is known as Great Bend of Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra. At the same place, the river forms the deepest canyon of the world (Grand Canyon). The U-turn in Brahmaputra river is due to uplift of folded Himalayan series and syntaxial bending of geologically young himalayas.
138: A state in India has the following characteristics:
1. Its northern part is arid and semi arid.
2. Its central part produces cotton.
3. Cultivation of cash crops is predominant over food crops.
Which one of the following states has all of the above characteristics ?
(a) Tamil Nadu
(b) Gujarat
(c) Andhra Pradesh
(d) Karnataka
Explanation:
The arid and semiarid region of India covers ca. 3,17,090 km2 area and is mainly spread over seven states viz., Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and portions of Jammu & Kashmir. The North of Gujarat shares its climate with Rajasthan and can be termed as semiarid and arid type of climate. The south of the state gets its fair share of the oncoming monsoons.
With its record production (41% of the India's total production) over the year, Gujarat has emerged as India'snumber one cotton producing state. Central Gujarat region, including Ahmedabad district, north gujarat and Saurashtra are the main cotton growing areas in the state.
In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit. Gujarat has an agricultural economy; the total crop area amounts to more than one-half of the total Lland area Sugarcane production is increasing, while cotton, tabacco, and oilseeds (especially peanuts [groundnuts]) are profitable cash crops. Gujarat produces about one-third of India's peanut crop and about one-third of the country's tobacco. Cash crops are characteristic of the state's agricultural economy.