About Indian Geography
Indian geography at this level is a set of pairings: a river and where it rises, a national park and its state, a city and the river it stands on, a peak and its state, and a state and its capital. The questions are factual, and a few of the pairings are the ones that are asked again and again.
What you need to understand
- The Himalayan rivers rise in glaciers. The Ganga rises at the Gangotri glacier, the Yamuna at Yamunotri, and the Brahmaputra and the Indus both rise in Tibet, near Lake Mansarovar.
- The peninsular rivers rise in the hills and plateaus of the interior. The Godavari rises at Trimbakeshwar and the Krishna at Mahabaleshwar, both in Maharashtra, and the Kaveri at Talakaveri in Karnataka.
- A river is often learned with a tributary. The Yamuna is a tributary of the Ganga, the Chambal of the Yamuna, and the Tungabhadra of the Krishna.
- The rivers that fall into the Arabian Sea are the Indus, the Narmada and the Tapti. Most of the others reach the Bay of Bengal.
- The Narmada and the Tapti flow through rift valleys and run from east to west, which is the opposite of most of the country's rivers.
- Cities on rivers are a staple of these questions: Agra and Delhi on the Yamuna, Varanasi and Patna on the Ganga, Vijayawada on the Krishna, Nashik on the Godavari and Tiruchirappalli on the Kaveri.
- The national parks are learned with their states, and the ones asked about most are Corbett in Uttarakhand, Kanha and Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh, Ranthambore and Keoladeo in Rajasthan, Gir in Gujarat and Kaziranga in Assam.
- Kaziranga is the home of the one-horned rhinoceros, Gir of the Asiatic lion, and the Sundarbans of the Royal Bengal tiger.
- Each state's highest peak is a settled fact: Anamudi in Kerala, Doddabetta in Tamil Nadu, Kalsubai in Maharashtra, Guru Shikhar in Rajasthan and Mullayanagiri in Karnataka.
- The capitals that are not the largest city of their state are the ones asked about: Dispur rather than Guwahati, Gandhinagar rather than Ahmedabad, Bhopal rather than Indore, and Chandigarh for both Punjab and Haryana.
- Two states share Chandigarh as their capital, which is why a question asking which state has a given capital needs the state to be named in the question rather than the capital.
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the official capital of Sri Lanka, is a reminder that the commercial capital and the official capital can differ.
- Everything in this topic is stable: rivers do not move their sources and capitals do not change often. Nothing here depends on the year in which the paper is set.
How to work through these questions
- Learn the rivers from the source downwards and fix which side of the country each falls on. That resolves most river questions without memorising a map.
- Learn the national parks state by state rather than as one list, since the questions almost always ask which state a park is in.
- For capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city. Those are the ones that are asked, and they are also the ones people get wrong.
- For peaks, hold the state's position in mind: the highest peaks of the southern states are in the Western Ghats, and most of those of the northern states are in the Himalaya.
- Where two facts are close, such as the two rivers rising in Tibet, learn what distinguishes them: the Indus flows west and the Brahmaputra east.
- Use the state as the organising idea. Most of the questions in this topic come down to which state something is in.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Confusing the origin of the Ganga at Gangotri with that of the Yamuna at Yamunotri.
- Answering Ahmedabad for the capital of Gujarat, which is Gandhinagar.
- Giving Colombo as the capital of Sri Lanka; the official capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
- Mixing up the Godavari, which rises at Trimbakeshwar, with the Krishna, which rises at Mahabaleshwar.
- Mixing up Anamudi in Kerala with Doddabetta in Tamil Nadu, the two highest peaks of the south.
- Confusing Keoladeo, which is a bird sanctuary in Rajasthan, with Ranthambore, which is a tiger reserve in the same state.
- Placing the Sundarbans in Odisha; they lie in West Bengal.
- Answering a question about a national park with the state that holds the most parks rather than the one the park is actually in.
Worked example
In which state is the Kaziranga National Park?
- Kaziranga is known for the one-horned rhinoceros, which fixes it in the north-east of the country.
- The states of the north-east in the table are Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
- The park lies in the Brahmaputra valley, which is Assam, and the other north-eastern parks in the table are Balpakram in Meghalaya and Namdapha in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Kaziranga is in Assam.
Answer: Assam
Practice questions with answers
A few Indian Geography questions with the full solution shown, so you can see
how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.
Question 1
Which of these is a tributary of the Beas?
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A
the Hagari
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B
the Terna
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C
the Arun
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D
the Parbati
Answer: Option D — with explanation
the Beas rises at the Rohtang pass in Himachal Pradesh, and the Parbati is one of its tributaries.
Two habits answer most of these. For rivers, hold the map in mind from the source downwards and remember which side of the country they fall on; for capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city of their state, because those are the ones that are asked about.
Common mistakes
- this is a tributary of another river: the Hagari
- this is a tributary of another river: the Terna
- this is a tributary of another river: the Arun
Question 2
Gir National Park is in which of these states?
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A
Madhya Pradesh
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B
Gujarat
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C
Tamil Nadu
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D
Odisha
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Gir National Park is in Gujarat.
Two habits answer most of these. For rivers, hold the map in mind from the source downwards and remember which side of the country they fall on; for capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city of their state, because those are the ones that are asked about.
Common mistakes
- this state has a different national park: Odisha
- this state has a different national park: Tamil Nadu
- this state has a different national park: Madhya Pradesh
Question 3
the Ghaghara rises in which of these places?
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A
the Sihawa hills in Chhattisgarh
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B
near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet
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C
the Mapchachungo glacier in Nepal
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D
the Ballalarayana Durga in Karnataka
Answer: Option C — with explanation
the Ghaghara rises at the Mapchachungo glacier in Nepal, and the Rapti is one of its tributaries.
Two habits answer most of these. For rivers, hold the map in mind from the source downwards and remember which side of the country they fall on; for capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city of their state, because those are the ones that are asked about.
Common mistakes
- this is where another river rises: the Sihawa hills in Chhattisgarh
- this is where another river rises: the Ballalarayana Durga in Karnataka
- this is where another river rises: near Lake Mansarovar in Tibet
Question 4
Pench National Park is in which of these states?
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A
Uttar Pradesh
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B
Madhya Pradesh
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C
Meghalaya
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D
Assam
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Pench National Park is in Madhya Pradesh.
Two habits answer most of these. For rivers, hold the map in mind from the source downwards and remember which side of the country they fall on; for capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city of their state, because those are the ones that are asked about.
Common mistakes
- this state has a different national park: Meghalaya
- this state has a different national park: Uttar Pradesh
- this state has a different national park: Assam
Question 5
Kanpur is in which of these states?
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A
Uttar Pradesh
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B
Gujarat
-
C
Uttarakhand
-
D
Assam
Answer: Option A — with explanation
Kanpur stands on the Ganga in Uttar Pradesh.
Two habits answer most of these. For rivers, hold the map in mind from the source downwards and remember which side of the country they fall on; for capitals, learn the ones that are not the largest city of their state, because those are the ones that are asked about.
Common mistakes
- this state contains a different city: Gujarat
- this state contains a different city: Uttarakhand
- this state contains a different city: Assam
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to learn a map?
A mental outline of the country with the main rivers and the states is enough, and it is worth more than any list. The questions are about pairings, and the map is what holds the pairings together.
Which rivers are asked about most?
The Ganga, Yamuna, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri, Narmada and Tapti. Between them they account for most of the river questions in a paper.
Why is Chandigarh the capital of two states?
It is a Union territory that serves as the capital of both Punjab and Haryana. Questions therefore have to name the state rather than the capital.
Are national parks asked by state or by animal?
Both. A park is asked either as which state it is in, or as which animal it is known for, and the two are best learned together.
Has anything in this topic changed recently?
Rivers and peaks do not change. A few cities have been renamed, and the table uses the current names, with the older name given in the explanation where it is still in common use.
