Explanation :

• The Kuril Islands is a volcanic archipelago in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast that stretches approximately 1,300 km northeast from Hokkaido, Japan to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean.
• These form part of the ring of tectonic instability encircling the Pacific Ocean referred to as the Ring of Fire.
• The Islands are currently under Russian administration. However, they are also claimed by Japan.
• Four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan calls the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute between the two nations.
• These four islands - Kunashir (known in Japanese as Kunashiri), Iturup (Etorofu), Shikotan and the rocky Habomai islets.

Explanation :

• The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as Hidase Dam is an under construction gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region of Ethiopia.
• The dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed, as well as the seventh largest in the world.
• The dam is the centerpiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter, with a projected capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts.

Blue Nile

• The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia.
• With the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile. The Blue Nile supplies about 80% of the water in the Nile during the rainy season.

Explanation :

• Mt. Aconcagua is the highest mountain in South America (6,961 meters); the highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres; and the highest mountain outside Asia.
• Aconcagua lies within Aconcagua Provincial Park in the province of Mendoza in the Republic of Argentina. The mountain lies completely within Argentina and, unlike many other Andean peaks, does not sit on the international border with Chile.
• The mountain was formed by the collision of the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate during the relatively recent Andean orogeny or period of mountain building.
• It is of volcanic origin, but it is not itself an active volcano.

Explanation :

• The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is the Indian Ocean counterpart of the Pacific El Nino and La Nina.
• It is defined by the difference in sea surface temperature between two areas (or poles, hence a dipole) – a western pole in the Arabian Sea (western Indian Ocean) and an eastern pole in the eastern Indian Ocean south of Indonesia.
• The IOD is one of the key drivers of Australia's climate and can have a significant impact on agriculture. This is because events generally coincide with the winter crop growing season.
• The Indian Monsoon is invariably influenced by the IOD.
• The IOD has three phases: neutral, positive and negative. Events usually start around May or June, peak between August and October and then rapidly decay when the monsoon arrives in the southern hemisphere around the end of spring.

Positive Event:

• warmer sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean relative to the east
• easterly wind anomalies across the Indian Ocean and less cloudiness to Australia's northwest
• less rainfall over southern Australia and the Top End

Negative Event:

• cooler sea surface temperatures in the western Indian Ocean relative to the east
• winds become more westerly, bringing increased cloudiness to Australia's northwest
• more rainfall in the Top End and southern Australia

Explanation :

• Tonga is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago, is located in the Ring of Fire area of Pacific Ocean. It comprises 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited.
• It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, Niue to the east, Kermadec (part of New Zealand) to the southwest, and New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the west.
• It is sub-divided into five administrative divisions: Eua, Haʻapai, Niuas, Tongatapu, and Vavaʻu.
• The largest island is the Tongatapu, on which the capital city of Nukuʻalofa is located.
• Geologically the Tongan islands are of two types: most have a limestone base formed from uplifted coral formations; others consist of limestone overlaying a volcanic base.

Explanation :

• The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,300 kilometers over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometers.
• The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
• This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps.
• It also holds great scientific interest as the habitat of species such as the dugong (‘sea cow’) and the large green turtle, which are threatened with extinction.
• It was included in the World Heritage Site in 1981.

Explanation :

• Catalonia is a semi-autonomous region in Iberian Peninsula in the north-eastern corner of
• It is bordered to the north by France and Andorra, to the west by Aragon, to the south by the province of Valencia, and to the east by the Mediterranean Sea.
• The region of Catalonia is divided into four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona, and seven jurisdictions: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia Central, Terres de l’Ebre and l’Alt Pirineu and
• The capital of Catalonia is the city of

Iberian Peninsula

• Also known as Iberia, it is located in the southwest corner of Europe.
• The peninsula is principally divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory, as well as Andorra, small areas of France, and the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.

Explanation :

Syria is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and south west, Iraq to the east and Jordan to the south.

Explanation :

The ‘Sinai Peninsula’ or simply ‘Sinai’ is a triangular peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a land bridge between Asia and Africa. Hence, both the statements are incorrect.

Explanation :

• TAPI pipeline source of gas is from Galkynysh gas field which is in Turkmenistan.
• TAPI pipeline was first proposed in 1995 with an aim to transport natural gas from energy rich Caspian Sea (Galkynysh gas field: fourth largest in the world) in Turkmenistan to India through Afghanistan and Pakistan.
• The project will supply both India and Pakistan about 38 mmscmd of natural gas whereas Afghanistan will get a supply of 14 mmscmd.