Category 4 · Geography
Mountains, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami
12 micro topics in Geography for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Classification of Mountains – Fold, Block and Volcanic; Significant Mountain Ranges of the World; and 10 more.
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4.1
Classification of Mountains – Fold, Block and Volcanic
Mountains are classified by the way they form into fold mountains, made by compression of rock layers, block or fault-block mountains, made by faulting that raises blocks of crust, volcanic mountains, built by lava and ash,…
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4.2
Significant Mountain Ranges of the World
The significant mountain ranges of the world include the Himalayas and Karakoram of Asia, the Alps and Urals of Europe, the Atlas and Drakensberg of Africa, the Andes, Rockies and Appalachians of the Americas, and the…
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4.3
Volcanism – Causes and Lava Types
Volcanism is the process by which molten rock, called magma, rises through the crust and erupts at the surface as lava, along with gases and solid fragments. Magma forms at plate boundaries and hotspots by decompression…
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4.4
Volcanic Landforms – Extrusive and Intrusive
Volcanic landforms are of two kinds. Extrusive landforms form when lava erupts on the surface and include shield volcanoes, composite cones, cinder cones, calderas and lava plateaus such as the Deccan Traps. Intrusive landforms form when…
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4.5
Types of Volcanic Eruptions
Volcanic eruptions are classified by their style, from the quiet Hawaiian type to the violent Plinian type. The style depends on the viscosity and gas content of the magma, the supply of water and the shape…
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4.6
Hotspots, Mantle Plumes, Geysers and Hot Springs
A hotspot is a fixed region of unusually high heat and volcanism, fed by a mantle plume, a column of hot rock rising from deep in the mantle. As a plate drifts over it, a chain…
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4.7
Distribution of Volcanoes and Earthquakes – Ring of Fire
Volcanoes and earthquakes are not scattered at random but concentrate along plate boundaries. The Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire holds about three-quarters of the world's volcanoes and about 80 per cent of its largest earthquakes, the Alpine-Himalayan…
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4.8
Effects of Volcanoes
Volcanoes affect the Earth in both harmful and beneficial ways. Eruptions cause deaths from pyroclastic flows, ash fall, lahars and gases, destroy property, disrupt air travel and can cool the global climate for a year or…
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4.9
Earthquakes – Causes, Focus and Richter Scale
An earthquake is the sudden shaking of the ground caused by the release of stored strain energy along a fault, as described by the elastic rebound theory. The release point underground is the focus and the…
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4.10
Effects of Earthquakes
Earthquakes cause ground shaking, surface faulting, ground failure such as liquefaction and landslides, tsunamis, floods and fires, and bring loss of life, destruction of buildings and infrastructure and long-term economic and social damage. The damage depends…
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4.11
Tsunami – Mechanism and Properties
A tsunami is a series of long sea waves caused by a sudden displacement of a large volume of water, most often by an undersea earthquake at a subduction zone, and also by landslides, volcanic eruptions…
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4.12
The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Warning Systems
The Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 was caused by a magnitude 9.1 earthquake off Sumatra on the Sunda subduction zone, where the Indian plate slides under the Burma plate. It killed about 230,000 people…
Frequently asked questions
Which topics are in Mountains, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami?
Mountains, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami has 12 micro topics in Geography: Classification of Mountains – Fold, Block and Volcanic; Significant Mountain Ranges of the World; Volcanism – Causes and Lava Types; Volcanic Landforms – Extrusive and Intrusive; Types of Volcanic Eruptions; Hotspots, Mantle Plumes, Geysers and Hot Springs; Distribution of Volcanoes and Earthquakes – Ring of Fire; Effects of Volcanoes; Earthquakes – Causes, Focus and Richter Scale; Effects of Earthquakes; Tsunami – Mechanism and Properties; The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami and Warning Systems.
Is Mountains, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami important for UPSC Prelims?
Mountains, Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunami is a part of the UPSC Prelims Geography syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 12 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.