RAS question
The Chilika Lake, India's largest brackish water lagoon, is located in:
Correct answer: (A) Odisha.
Chilika Lake, India's largest brackish water lagoon, is located in Odisha.
Explanation
Chilika Lake is located in Odisha, so option A is the only correct state choice. It is India's largest brackish water lagoon and the world's second largest coastal lagoon, while the NCERT chapter on Physical Features of India states that Chilika is India's largest salt-water lake and lies in Odisha, south of the Mahanadi delta. That places it on India's eastern coastal plain and connects it with the Bay of Bengal. Chilika is a Ramsar Site, is known for migratory birds, and lies at the mouth of the Daya River. For RAS, the key is to connect the lake's coastal-lagoon character with its state location.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Andhra Pradesh is associated in the option rationale with Pulicat Lake on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu border, not with Chilika.
- (C) Tamil Nadu is not the location of Chilika, and it has no large lagoon comparable to Chilika in this context.
- (D) Kerala's famous lagoon is Vembanad Lake, whereas Chilika is identified by NCERT as lying in Odisha.
Concept
This tests Indian geography through coastal plains, lagoons and wetland location. It recurs in RAS because Chilika links a map fact with coastal geomorphology and Ramsar-site ecology.