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RAS question

Inland drainage covers approximately what percentage of Rajasthan?

Correct answer: (D) 60%.

Inland drainage covers approximately 60% of Rajasthan.

  1. (A)

    10%

  2. (B)

    20%

  3. (C)

    30%

  4. (D)

    60%

Explanation

Inland or internal drainage means that rivers do not ultimately reach the sea. In Rajasthan, this pattern is prominent because many streams flow only for a limited distance and then either disappear in dry plains or desert sands, or terminate in salt-lake basins. RajRAS - Major Rivers of Rajasthan separately lists a set of rivers under the inland drainage system, including Kantli, Banganga, Sabi/Sahibi, Ruparel, Rupangarh, Mentha and Kakni. Inland drainage is therefore not a stray local feature but a major drainage pattern in the state. The correct approximate share is 60%, a figure linked with Rajasthan's arid, low-rainfall terrain and its short, internally draining river courses.

Why the other options are wrong

  • (A) 10% is too low for a drainage pattern covering a large part of Rajasthan and treated by RajRAS - Major Rivers of Rajasthan as a distinct inland drainage system.
  • (B) 20% still understates the extent indicated by the marked answer and does not match the question's focus on Rajasthan's large internal-drainage belt.
  • (C) 30% is not the marked answer; the MCQ expects the approximate share to be 60%, not half of that figure.

Concept

This tests Rajasthan's drainage systems, especially the distinction between internal drainage and river systems that ultimately drain towards the sea. It recurs in RAS because aridity, salt lakes and short seasonal rivers are core features of Rajasthan's physical geography.

Source

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