Geography of Rajasthan: Physical Setting, Resources and Economy
What this domain tests
Geography of Rajasthan: Physical Setting, Resources and Economy tests the state's relief, drainage, climate, minerals, agriculture, irrigation and industries. Rajasthan examples are often used to test arid-zone reasoning.
Core rules
- Physiography: the Aravalli range runs south-west to north-east; Guru Shikhar on Mount Abu is the highest peak. West of the Aravalli lies the Thar Desert, with the Marusthali and Bagar divisions; east lies the fertile plain and the Hadoti plateau.
- Drainage: the Luni is an inland river that becomes saline and disappears in the Rann of Kachchh; Chambal, Banas, Mahi and Sabarmati drain east or south. Most streams are seasonal.
- Climate: arid and semi-arid, low and erratic rainfall, high diurnal range, frequent drought.
- Resources: zinc and lead at Zawar and Rampura Agucha; copper at Khetri; Makrana marble; sandstone; gypsum; lignite at Palana; petroleum in the Barmer basin; solar and wind potential.
- Economy: bajra, wheat, mustard, guar and pulses; livestock; the Indira Gandhi Canal; textiles, cement, sugar and tourism.
Worked example
Before the Indira Gandhi Canal, Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh grew mainly drought-tolerant bajra. With canal irrigation, wheat and mustard became viable because their water requirements could be met and marketable surpluses could be sold. The reasoning is not that canals always increase wheat; it is that irrigation reduced production risk and changed the crop portfolio.
Traps
The Luni does not reach the sea. The Aravalli is one of the world's oldest fold systems, not a young mountain chain. The Thar is not uniformly sand; it includes rocky and gravelly tracts. Rajasthan is the largest state by area, but not the most populous.