Category: Geography

[344]

The Aegean Sea was traditionally known as X, which in Greek means ‘chief sea’. In English, this word now refers to something else in the field of geography. This is derived from the way the Aegean Sea looks like.
What is X ?

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Archipelago
An archipelago is a group of islands scattered in a body of water, such as a lake, river, or ocean.
Most archipelagos are formed by volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor. For example, the Hawaiian archipelago was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions that began over 80 million years ago.
Archipelagos can also be formed by tectonic displacement.
Read More.

[279]

The following are countries ranked in descending order according to a geographical measure. Identify the measure & give the top ranking country in the world. 
X
Norway
Indonesia
Russia
Philippines
Japan
Australia

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Length of coastline. X is Canada.
Canada has more than 50,000 islands giving it a major lead in coastline. Canada has 2,00,000 km of coastline, whereas Norway the second in the list has just 80,000 km.
See the Complete List.

[214]

X was the 6th Surveyor General of India (1830-1843) & was part of the 70 year ‘Great Trigonometric Survey’ to map out of the entire Indian subcontinent. He was known for his pioneering work & detail orientation.
Such was his reputation that when his successor Andrew Scott Waugh found a remarkable (now globally known) landmark in the region, he said it had to be named after X.
Can you identify X or the landmark named after him?

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Sir George Everest, the person after whom Mount Everest is named.
To be fair, Everest himself objected to his name being used, as "the native of India" could not pronounce it and it could not be easily written in Hindi.
Read More about his work.

[206]

X is the South Eastern tip of Luxembourg, and is adjacent to Germany & France. The area mostly comprises of small wine-making villages.
In 1985, an agreement was signed here which made the word X globally famous, and is today considered a symbol of unity of Europe.
Can you identify X?

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Schengen, the place after which EU's Schengen visa is named.
Read More about the original agreement, & how it transformed the landscape of Europe.

[189]

ENSO is a weather phenomenon which was originally named after Jesus Christ and is caused by the variation in winds blowing over the Pacific Ocean. It typically occurs every 2 to 7 years and is responsible for heavy rainfall on one of the Pacific, to droughts on the other.
Can you identify this weather phenomenon?

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El Nino Southern Oscillation, or just El Nino in short. The weather pattern was discovered by sailors around Christmas time, related it to Christ himself. Its effects are not only restricted to the Pacific, but have the capability to affect global climate in general.
Watch a great explainer video by Khan Academy.

[170]

Below are five pairs of global cities. What do the sets have in common?
Madrid, Spain / Wellington, New Zealand
Buenos Aires, Argentina / Shanghai, China
Hanoi, Vietnam / La Paz, Bolivia
Johannesburg, South Africa / Honolulu, Hawaii

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These cities are Antipodes, i.e. on the diametrically opposite sides of the Earth.
Interestingly only 15% of the Earth's land surface has a land antipode. 
See the Antipodal Map of Earth to see what is opposite what.

[130]

Lake Priyadarshini an important freshwater source for Indians working at this location.
Where is this lake located?
Hint: Think cold
shivling

Show Answer
Antarctica.
Lake Priyadarshini is part of Maitri, India's second permanent base in Antarctica after Dakshin Gangotri. It was named after the then Prime Minister of India Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi.
Read More about the Indian Antarctic Programme.