RAS question
Consider the following statements about the Donbas (Donets Basin) industrial region: 1. It is located in eastern Ukraine and straddles the border with Russia. 2. It was historically one of Europe's most important coal-mining and steel-producing regions. 3. Donetsk and Luhansk are the major cities of the Donbas region. 4. The Donbas region lacks navigable waterways, which limited its industrial development historically. Which of the above statements are INCORRECT?
Correct answer: (B) Only 4.
In the Donbas industrial region, only the statement that it lacked navigable waterways which historically limited industrial development is incorrect.
Explanation
The Donbas is a southeastern European mining and industrial region whose industrial area includes much of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, while the coalfield extends into Rostov in southwestern Russia. Britannica identifies it as notable for sizeable coal reserves and records that it became a major coal and heavy-industrial region, with the Donets Basin developing into the principal iron-and-steel-producing region of the Russian Empire by the beginning of World War I. The fourth statement is the odd one out: the Seversky Donets helped with water supply and transport, and the Dnieper river system, together with Donbas coal and Krivoy Rog iron ore, strengthened the Donbas-Dnieper industrial axis rather than limiting it.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Statements 1 and 2 are correct because the Donbas lies mainly in eastern Ukraine with a Russian extension, and Britannica describes it as a major coal and heavy-industrial region.
- (C) Statement 3 is also correct because Donetsk and Luhansk are the core oblasts and major urban centres associated with the Donbas, so option C wrongly treats it as incorrect.
- (D) Statement 2 is correct, not incorrect, since Britannica records the Donbas as a historically important coal-mining and iron-and-steel region.
Concept
This tests the World Geography theme of industrial regions, especially how raw materials, transport corridors and urban centres combine to create heavy-industry belts. RAS often revisits such regions because they link physical geography with economic geography and current affairs.