Mountains, Hills, and Trekking Geography

Situated at the foot of a mountain and bounded on the opposite side by a plain or an ocean

A tarn is a mountain lake or pool formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. These are typically found in corries (cirques) carved by glacial erosion and are often deep and clear. In contrast, oxbow lakes are formed by river meanders, yardangs are wind-eroded rock formations, and ridges are linear elevated landforms not specifically created by glaciers.

Arakan Yoma is the mountain range that forms an extension of the Himalayas into Myanmar (Burma). These mountains run parallel to the coast of Myanmar and are part of the eastern Himalayan range system, continuing the mountain chain southward from Northeast India.

Ajanta mountain range is a short mountain range which spreads within Maharashtra. Aravalli mountain range spreads in western India and eastern Pakistan. Satpura range is a mountain range that starts from the state of Gujarat and extends to Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.

Mussoorie is situated in the Himachal Range of the Lesser Himalayas in Uttarakhand. This popular hill station lies on a horseshoe-shaped ridge at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. The Himachal Range is part of the middle Himalayan system, distinct from the higher Himadri (Great Himalaya) and lower Shiwalik ranges.

The correct west-to-east sequence of Himalayan divisions is: Kashmir (westernmost), Himachal, U.P. (Uttarakhand), Nepal, and Assam (easternmost). This follows the geographical orientation of the Himalayan range across the Indian subcontinent.

Siachen Glacier is located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Ladakh region. It lies adjacent to the Nubra Valley, which is to its south. The glacier is one of the longest in the non-polar regions and is strategically significant as it lies near the India-Pakistan Actual Control Position.

Jelep La Pass connects Kalimpong in West Bengal to Lhasa in Tibet. This historic trade route was part of the Silk Road network and was crucial for Indo-Tibetan trade. Shipki La connects Himachal Pradesh to Tibet, while Niti Pass connects Uttarakhand to Tibet. Thag La is also in the Himalayan region but not the Kalimpong-Lhasa route.

Though Dhauladhar range traverses the state of Himachal, Shimla lies at the starting point of Shiwalik range.

The Deccan Traps are a massive flood basalt province formed by volcanic eruptions approximately 66 million years ago. They cover most of the Maharashtra Plateau and consist of multiple layers of solidified basalt rock spread over nearly 500,000 square kilometers. A shield volcano has a different shape, composite volcanoes are cone-shaped, and a caldera is a volcanic collapse depression.

The Mahadev Hills are located in the Satpura range in Madhya Pradesh, not in the Vindhyachal, Himalayan, or Aravali ranges. The Satpura range runs east-west across central India and the Mahadev Hills form part of this range in the eastern segment of Madhya Pradesh.

Shipki La (or Shipki Pass) connects Shimla in Himachal Pradesh with western Tibet (China). It is located in the Sutlej River valley and serves as an important border trade route between India and China. Jelep La connects Sikkim to Tibet, Niti Pass connects Uttarakhand to Tibet, and Thag La is in the Tawang region.

Banihal Pass is located in the Pir Panjal range of the Kashmir Himalayas. It connects the Kashmir Valley with Jammu region and is strategically important as it lies on the Jammu-Srinagar highway. The pass is situated at an elevation of 2,832 meters and remains closed during winter due to heavy snowfall.

The correct matching of India's physical features with their percentage of total geographical area is: Mountains cover 10.7%, Hills cover 18.6%, Plateaus cover 27.7%, and Plains cover 43%. This distribution explains why agriculture is so important to India - plains have the most arable land. Option A correctly pairs Mountains-2(10.7%), Hills-1(18.6%), Plateaus-4(27.7%), and Plains-3(43%).