RAS question
In which state/UT is Thol Lake Ramsar site located?
Correct answer: (C) Gujarat.
Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in India, is located in Gujarat.
Explanation
Thol Lake is identified by the Ramsar Sites Information Service as Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Ramsar site number 2458, in India. Its administrative region is Mehsana district of Gujarat state, which fixes the state answer as Gujarat. Thol Lake is therefore a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance located in Gujarat. The point tested here is not the lake's ecology but its location: once the Ramsar entry ties the site to Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, MP and Assam are eliminated. The broader Ramsar context matters because India has 99 Ramsar sites under the Ramsar Convention, so state-wise location recall is a frequent exam demand.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Tamil Nadu is wrong because Thol Lake Wildlife Sanctuary is in Mehsana district of Gujarat state, India.
- (B) MP is wrong because the site's administrative region is Gujarat, not Madhya Pradesh.
- (D) Assam is wrong because Thol Lake is listed as a Ramsar site in Gujarat state.
Concept
This tests Environment and Ecology mapping under Ramsar wetlands, where candidates must connect a protected wetland with its state. RAS repeatedly asks such site-location pairs because Ramsar additions and wetland geography are standard current-environment facts.