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UPSC Prelims 2010 · Indian Geography · India’s Land and Borders
If there were no Himalayan ranges, what would have been the most likely geographical impact on India? Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Much of the country would experience the cold waves from Siberia
- Indo-gangetic plain would be devoid of such extensive alluvial soils
- The pattern of monsoon would be different from what it is at present
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 1 and 3 only
- (c) 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3
The Himalaya does all three.
Statement by statement
1. ✓ CORRECT The Himalaya blocks icy Central Asian winds; without it north India would get Siberian cold waves.
2. ✓ CORRECT The Indo-Gangetic plain is built from silt brought down by Himalayan rivers.
3. ✓ CORRECT The Himalaya traps the monsoon winds and forces the rain onto India; the monsoon pattern would change.
The idea
A major mountain barrier affects air movement and supplies sediment to surrounding lowlands. Removing it would alter both climate and the material carried by rivers. These effects are connected, so the question cannot be decided by considering temperature alone.
High mountain barrier → Winds are blocked or lifted → Rain and snow feed rivers → Weathering and erosion supply sediment → Rivers carry it downhill → Deposition builds extensive plains
Why the others are wrong
(a) Misses the alluvium and the monsoon.
(b) Misses the alluvium brought by Himalayan rivers.
(c) Misses the cold-wave barrier.
Also know
The Himalayan system developed through convergence of the Indian and Eurasian plates. Its rivers carry sediment into the Indus and Ganga–Brahmaputra plains. Orographic rain means rainfall caused by air rising over relief; a rain shadow is the drier area behind the barrier.
🔒 Himalaya: climatic barrier (cold + monsoon), source of perennial rivers, builder of the northern plains.
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