RAS question
What is 'Bhur' soil?
Correct answer: (D) Wind-deposited sandy soil.
Bhur soil is wind-deposited sandy soil, locally understood as fine soil with a large proportion of sand.
Explanation
Bhur is a local soil term for fine sandy soil. Its key diagnostic feature is that it contains a large proportion of sand, unlike clay-rich or loamy local categories. That sandy character separates bhur from laterite, black cotton soil and ordinary alluvial soil. Bhur is commonly treated as wind-deposited sandy soil, while the secure core remains narrow: bhur means fine sandy soil, and any more specific region-wise aeolian expansion needs support from an official Rajasthan source. For RAS purposes, mark the term by texture and local usage first: bhur equals sandy soil, not a separate black, lateritic or river-alluvial class.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Laterite soil is not the local term bhur; laterite belongs in hill contexts, while bhur is identified by its sandy texture.
- (B) Black cotton soil is a different soil type and does not match bhur as soil with a large proportion of sand.
- (C) Alluvial soil is river-deposited, whereas bhur is sandy soil and is treated here as wind-deposited.
Concept
RAS geography uses local soil terminology to connect vernacular soil names with physical character. Bhur recurs in RAS because soil terms connect Rajasthan's regional geography with agriculture and land-use basics.