RAS question
The concept of 'Gondwanaland' refers to the ancient supercontinent in the:
Correct answer: (B) Southern Hemisphere (India, Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia).
Gondwanaland, or Gondwana, refers to the ancient southern supercontinent that included present-day India, Africa, South America, Antarctica, Australia and Madagascar.
Explanation
Gondwanaland is not a name for India alone; it is the southern supercontinent associated with the breakup of Pangaea. Britannica describes Gondwana as an ancient supercontinent that incorporated present-day South America, Africa, Madagascar, India, Australia and Antarctica, and states that it formed the southern half of Pangaea. That is why the correct option is the Southern Hemisphere grouping. Gondwanaland formed when Pangaea split about 175 million years ago, and its name comes from the Gondwana region of central India, around present-day Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The exam point is the direction and composition: southern landmasses, with India included as one member, not as the whole concept.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Gondwanaland included India, but it also included several other present-day landmasses, so it cannot mean only the Indian subcontinent.
- (C) The northern supercontinent was Laurasia, while Gondwanaland was the southern half of Pangaea.
- (D) Africa and South America were part of Gondwanaland, but the supercontinent also included India, Antarctica, Australia and Madagascar.
Concept
This tests plate tectonics, continental drift and the distribution of ancient landmasses. It recurs in RAS because Gondwana links world physical geography with India's geological setting.