General and World Geography

What the official syllabus says

GPSC Preliminary Examination, General Studies, under the heading Geography:

• General Geography: Earth in Solar system, Motion of the Earth, Concept of time, Season, Internal Structure of the Earth, Major landforms and their features. Atmosphere - structure and composition, Elements and factors of climate, Airmasses and Fronts, Atmospheric disturbances, Climate change. Oceans: Physical, Chemical and Biological characteristics, Hydrological Disasters, Marine and Continental resources, etc.
• Physical Geography in relation to World, India and Gujarat: Major physical divisions, Earthquakes, landslides, Natural drainage, Seasonal Climate Regions, Atmospheric disturbance, Cyclone, Natural Vegetation: Parks and Sanctuaries. Major Soil types, Rocks and Minerals, etc.
• Social Geography in relation to World, India and Gujarat: Distribution, Density, Growth, Sex-ratio, Literacy, Occupational Structure, SC and ST Population, Ethnic group, Linguistic group, Rural-Urban components, Urbanization and Migration, Metropolitan regions, etc.
• Economic Geography: Major sectors of economy, Agriculture, Industry and Services-their salient features. Basic Industries-Agro, Mineral, Forest, Fuel and Manpower based Industries, Transport and Trade, etc.

Topics in detail

The physical, social and economic geography lines ask for the World, India and Gujarat each. This page covers general geography and the world; India and Gujarat follow on their own pages.

The Earth in the solar system

• The solar system: Sun, planets, dwarf planets, satellites, asteroids, comets
• Shape and size of the Earth; latitudes and longitudes
• Rotation and revolution; day and night; seasons, solstices and equinoxes
• Concept of time: local time, standard time (Indian Standard Time at 82.5 degrees east), time zones, the International Date Line
• Eclipses; tides

Interior of the Earth and landforms

• Crust, mantle and core; discontinuities; evidence from earthquake waves
• Rocks: igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic; the rock cycle
• Continental drift, sea-floor spreading, plate tectonics
• Earthquakes and volcanoes: causes, distribution (Pacific Ring of Fire), seismic waves
• Weathering, mass movement (landslides), and landforms made by rivers, glaciers, wind, groundwater and waves
• Major landforms: mountains (fold, block, volcanic), plateaus, plains

Atmosphere and climate

• Composition and structure of the atmosphere (troposphere to exosphere)
• Insolation, heat budget, temperature distribution, inversion
• Pressure belts and planetary, seasonal and local winds; jet streams
• Humidity, condensation, clouds, precipitation types
• Air masses and fronts; tropical and temperate cyclones, thunderstorms, tornadoes
• Climatic classification (Koppen) and world climate regions; El Nino, La Nina
• Climate change: greenhouse effect, evidence and effects

Oceans

• Relief of the ocean floor: continental shelf, slope, deep-sea plains, trenches
• Physical and chemical characteristics: temperature, salinity, density
• Ocean currents of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans; waves and tides
• Biological characteristics: plankton, coral reefs, marine ecosystems
• Hydrological disasters: tsunamis, storm surges, floods
• Marine resources (fisheries, minerals, energy) and continental resources; Exclusive Economic Zone and the Law of the Sea

World physical geography

• Continents: major physical divisions, mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes
• Natural vegetation and biomes: tropical forests, savannas, deserts, temperate grasslands, taiga, tundra
• Major soil types of the world

World social and economic geography

• Population distribution, density, growth; demographic transition; migration
• Races, ethnic and linguistic groups; urbanisation and the largest metropolitan regions
• World agriculture types; distribution of major crops
• World industries and minerals: iron and steel, textiles, petroleum; major industrial regions
• World transport routes (sea lanes, canals such as Suez and Panama) and trade

Overlaps

Mains General Studies-III (C) asks for important geophysical phenomena (earthquakes, tsunami, volcanic activity, cyclone).