Zoji La is a high mountain pass in the Himalayas in the Indian union territory of Ladakh.
Shipki La is located in Kinnaur district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, India, and Ngari Prefecture in Tibet, China.
Nathu La is a mountain pass in the Himalayas in East Sikkim district. It connects the Indian state of Sikkim with China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.
Bomdila is the headquarters of West Kameng district in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

• The Himalayas along with other Peninsular
mountains are young, weak and flexible in their
geological structure unlike the rigid and stable
Peninsular Block.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• Consequently, they are still
subjected to the interplay of exogenic and
endogenic forces, resulting in the development of
faults, folds and thrust plains.
• These mountains are tectonic in origin, dissected by fast-flowing
rivers which are in their youthful stage.
Hence, statement 2 and 3 are correct.
• Various landforms like gorges, V-shaped valleys, rapids,
waterfalls, etc. are indicative of this stage.

Statement 1 is incorrect.
• Originally, the Indo-Ganga-Brahmaputra plain
was a geo-synclinal depression
which attained its maximum development
during the third phase of the Himalayan
mountain formation approximately about 64
million years ago. Since then, it has been
gradually filled by the sediments brought by
the Himalayan and Peninsular rivers.
• Average depth of alluvial deposits in these plains
ranges from 1,000-2,000 m.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.

• Kashmir Himalayas comprise a series of ranges such as the Karakoram, Ladakh, Zaskar and Pir Panjal.
• The northeastern part of the Kashmir Himalayas is a cold desert, which lies between the Greater Himalayas and the Karakoram ranges.
• Between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range, lies the world famous valley of Kashmir and the famous Dal Lake.
• Important glaciers of South Asia such as the Baltoro and Siachen are also found in this region.
• The Kashmir Himalayas are also famous for Karewa formations, which are useful for the cultivation of Zafran, a local variety of saffron. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• The southernmost part of this region consists of longitudinal valleys known as ‘duns’. Jammu dun and Pathankot dun are important examples. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

• The Darjiling and Sikkim Himalayas are characterized by physical conditions such as moderate slope, thick soil cover with high organic content, well distributed rainfall throughout the year and mild winters.
• The British, taking advantage of these physical conditions, introduced tea plantations in this region.
• As compared to the other sections of the Himalayas, these along with the Arunachal Himalayas are conspicuous by the absence of
the Shiwalik formations. In place of the Shiwaliks here, the ‘duar formations’ are important, which have also been used for the development of tea gardens.

• The physiography of Manipur is unique by the presence of a large lake known as ‘Loktak’ lake at the centre, surrounded by mountains from all sides. Hence, statements 1 and 2 are correct.
• Loktak Lake is the largest freshwater lake in North East India and is famous for the phumdis (heterogeneous mass of vegetation, soil and organic matter at various stages of decomposition) floating over it. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.
• Located on this phumdi, Keibul Lamjao National Park is the only floating national park in the world. The park is the last natural refuge of the endangered Sangai (state animal).

Statement 1 is incorrect.
Western Ghats are comparatively higher in elevation and more continuous than the Eastern Ghats.

• Their average elevation is about 1,500 m with the height increasing from north to south. Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Most of the Peninsular rivers have their origin in the Western Ghats.
• Eastern Ghats comprising the discontinuous and low hills are
highly eroded by the rivers such as the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna, the Kaveri, etc. Some of the important ranges include the Javadi hills, the Palconda range, the Nallamala hills, the Mahendragiri hills, etc.
• The Eastern and the Western Ghats meet each other at the
Nilgiri hills. Hence, statement 3 is also incorrect.

Tikdam:
Just knowing that Western Ghats are more continuous than Eastern Ghats, which is very obvious, would have helped you eliminating option 1 and arrive at correct answer as statement 1 is given in all options except option B.

• The Meghalaya plateau is rich in mineral resources like coal, iron ore, sillimanite, limestone and uranium. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• This area receives maximum rainfall from the south west monsoon. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• As a result, the Meghalaya plateau has a highly eroded surface.
• Cherrapunji displays a bare rocky surface devoid of any permanent vegetation cover. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect.

‘Anaimudi’ (2,695 m), the highest peak of Peninsular plateau is located on the Anaimalai
hills of the Western Ghats followed by Dodabetta
(2,637 m) on the Nilgiri hills.

• The Narmada originates on the western flank
of the Amarkantak plateau at a height of about
1,057 m.
• Flowing in a rift valley between the
Satpura in the south and the Vindhyan range
in the north, it forms a picturesque gorge in
marble rocks and Dhuandhar waterfall near
Jabalpur.
• After flowing a distance of about
1,312 km, it meets the Arabian sea south of
Bharuch, forming a broad 27 km long estuary.
• The Sardar Sarovar Project has been constructed
on this river.

• India is a land of great variety of natural vegetation.
• Himalayan heights are marked with temperate vegetation; the Western Ghats and the Andaman Nicobar Islands have tropical rain forests; the deltaic regions have tropical forests and mangroves; the desert and semi desert areas of Rajasthan are known for cactii, a wide variety of bushes and thorny vegetation.

• Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 by the Government of India. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• It is administered by the National Tiger Conservation Authority only. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.
• Project Tiger’s main aims are to:
– Reduce factors that lead to the depletion of tiger habitats and to mitigate them by suitable management. The damages done to the habitat shall be rectified to facilitate the recovery of the ecosystem to the maximum possible extent.
– Ensure a viable tiger population for economic, scientific, cultural, aesthetic and ecological values.
• The monitoring system M-STrIPES was developed to assist patrol and protect tiger habitats. It maps patrol routes and allows forest guards to enter sightings, events and changes when patrolling.

• The south of Tarai is a belt consisting of
old and new alluvial deposits known as the
Bhangar and Khadar respectively.
• These plains have characteristic features of mature
stage of fluvial erosional and depositional landforms
such as sand bars, meanders, ox-bow lakes and braided channels.
• Bhabar is the older alluvium occupying higher grounds.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• Khadar is the newer alluvium covering the low lying flood plains.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Some of the important passes of the Kashmir Himalayas are
Zoji La on the Great Himalayas,
Banihal on the Pir Panjal,
Photu La on the Zaskar and
Khardung La on the Ladakh range.

• As compared to the western coastal plain, the eastern coastal plain is broader
and is an example of an emergent coast.
Hence, statement 1 is correct.
• There are well- developed deltas here, formed by the rivers flowing eastward in
to the Bay of Bengal. These include the deltas of the Mahanadi, the Godavari,
the Krishna and the Kaveri.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
• Because of its emergent nature, it has less number of ports and harbours.
• The continental shelf extends up to 500 km into the sea, which makes it difficult for
the development of good ports and harbours.

The rivers from North to South are:
Jhelum
Chenab
Ravi
Beas
Satluj

• The Peninsular drainage system is older than
the Himalayan one. This is evident from the
broad, largely-graded shallow valleys, and the
maturity of the rivers.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
• Most of the major Peninsular rivers except Narmada and Tapi flow from west to east.
• The Chambal, the Sind, the Betwa, the Ken, the Son, originating in the northern part of the Peninsula belong to the Ganga river system.
• The other major river systems of the Peninsular drainage are – the Mahanadi the Godavari, the Krishna and the Kaveri.
• Peninsular rivers are characterised by fixed course, absence of meanders and non-perennial flow of water. The Narmada and the Tapi which flow through the rift valley are, however, exceptions.
Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Tropic of Cancer passes through 8 states:
Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Tripura and Mizoram.

• As the summer sets in and the sun shifts northwards, the wind circulation over the subcontinent undergoes a complete reversal at both, the lower as well as the upper levels.
• By the middle of July, the low pressure belt nearer the surface [termed as Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)] shifts northwards, roughly parallel to the Himalayas between 20° N and 25° N. By this time, the westerly jet stream also withdraws from the Indian region.
Hence, statement 1 and 2 are correct.
• The ITCZ being a zone of low pressure, attracts inflow of winds from different directions.
• The maritime tropical airmass (mT) from the southern hemisphere, after crossing the equator, rushes to the low pressure area in the general southwesterly direction. It is this moist air current which is popularly known as the southwest monsoon.
• The pattern of pressure and winds as mentioned above is formed only at the level of the troposphere.
• An easterly jet stream flows over the southern part of the Peninsula in June, and has a maximum speed of 90 km per hour.
Hence, statement 3 is correct.
• In August, it is confined to 15o N latitude, and in September up to 22o N latitudes.
• The easterlies normally do not extend to the north of 30o N latitude in the upper atmosphere.

The Tamil Nadu coast remains dry during southwest monsoon season.
There are two factors responsible for it:
(i) The Tamil Nadu coast is situated parallel to the Bay of Bengal branch of southwest monsoon. Hence, statement 1 is correct.
(ii) It lies in the rainshadow area of the Arabian Sea branch of the south-west monsoon. Hence, statement 2 is incorrect.

Tikdam:
Statements 1 and 2 cannot be correct simultaneously because if the Tamil Nadu coast is situated parallel to the Bay of Bengal branch then it cannot fall in the rainshadow area of the Bay of Bengal branch.