Geography: Basic and India

The Questions on Geography form an important part of the Preliminary Examination on General Awareness. As per the different estimates there are 27 to 30 questions out 100 on Geography. Well, that is an overstatement. We can subdivide them into further sets. There are questions on Geo-Economic, Geo-physical, Geo-political and Geo-social. There are questions which require inter disciplinary study. No doubt, a good understanding of Geography helps to pick the right choice.

In short, Geography is considered an important aspect of study for preparation of Preliminary examination.

The NCERT books are suggested. It seems that is the common advice. Those, who has nothing to do with career making guidance, even they emphasise the study of Geography.

Kindly find two links on the content matter about geography. They are Wikipedia Books. There is nothing special about them. There is good information on Wikipedia also which can provide you with the ready material for preparation. One of the book is developed by the blogger. The second book is developed by some other person. The pages which he has included in the book justify the need of the contents which an aspirant require for preparation.

Download the Free Books on Geography for Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

Geography Basics: By Blogger.

Geography India: by Ashish Desai

Some Supporting Books
Geography: Continents and Basic Feature: By Circle Ell


How to Download:
Click on the link which are By Blogger and by Ashish Desai
You will reach a page on Wikipedia Website.
You can easily locate a suggestion: Format to Download.
Locate PDF (A4) and click.
It will start compiling the book. It may take few minutes. After the compilation is completed, you will be able to identify the instruction "Download". Click it and wait for the PDF book to appear on your system. Then again download to save the copy. Both the books are of 300 MB size. If you have 4G connection, it is not a big bargain. It also works well with 3G connection.
If you face any difficulty, then put remarks in comment section. I will provide a link to Google Drive. You will get it merely by clicking the link without undergoing the above steps.

Attention:

The Wikipedia sources can be altered by anyone. It may happen that when you access it, at that time, it would have been vandalized by some sick brain. You can use the comment section to show your dissatisfaction with the contents. I can provide a link to a saved copy of the book which I believe fulfils the requirement of the aspirants.

Secondly, it seems that Wikipedia faces a number of issues. Sometimes, it takes a time to download the copy of the compilation. Just persist.  

La Nina

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The present Cold weather is attributed to La Nina effect.

Check the Times of India Report HERE.

For details

Check the Wikipedia explanation HERE.

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Manas National Park

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Manas National Park Assam is in UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Check the following Link for making further notes: Click Here

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Eyjafjallajökull - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption has caused the air traffic disruption over Europe. It is one of the natural calamity which has effected all the continents. A brief study can be made from the contents of Wikipedia below:

Eyjafjallajökull - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Phyan cyclonic storm

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Climatic changes are now important topics and expect a good coverage in 2010 prelims as well as mains. After Copenhagen submit in December, there will further issues on environment changes and natural disasters. In short surface and atmospheric geographical phenomena must be given attention.

Use the following two reports

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Links to be used:
Phyan, first cyclonic storm to reach Mumbai in 43 years - Pune - City - The Times of India

The Hindu Report

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Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The Wikipedia article has a good graphic and details about the solar eclipse of July 22, 2009. The India related places can be noted down from the Times of India news report. Both the links are hitched below.

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Solar eclipse of July 22, 2009 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Solar Eclipse in India - TOI

Partial Solar Eclipse: First Astronomical Event in India in IYA 2009

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This is the year of Astronomy. The partial solar eclipse is the first such event to be seen in India. Kindly use the following note as such clips sometimes make the core of the unexpected Prelims MCQs.

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Source to be used:
Thousands view clear eclipse-Bangalore-Cities-The Times of India

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Just a side talk: After the solar eclipse on Jan 26, Mars enters the lagana which is Makkar since Jan 15. Those who have exalted Mars (Mangal) in their horoscope, they are sure to get through written exams this year. They should opt for uniformed cadre (IPS) and success will be there. Please do not approach me for astronomical prediction. Believe in your self and work hard. Planned study, consistency and conviction pays. Not such mumbo jumbos. If I have contradicted myself then it is like that.

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IYA2009 Site for writing an Essay

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From Site of International Year of Astronomy as Declared by UN:

Everyone should realise the impact of astronomy and other fundamental sciences on our daily lives, and understand how scientific knowledge can contribute to a more equitable and peaceful society. IYA2009 activities will take place locally, nationally, regionally and internationally.

From the link given below, one can write a good write up on International Year of Astronomy. It is the official site of IYA as declared by UN and organized by UNESCO. Many of the Civil Services Magazines have already brought out similar essays. One may find the common points by following the page which has been selected below.


A High Priority Topic for Prelims as well Mains.
SUGGESTION: Pick Astronomy terms like Exoplanet, Light Year, Nebula etc. for special notes. Some of them may follow here also.

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Link to be used:
IYA2009 General | Astronomy 2009

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Photograph: Catherine Ceasersky the President of International Year of Astronomy 2009. Source: the site of IYA, the link given above.

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What are Tornadoes?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Animated guide: Tornadoes

The site as shown above will help the readers to develop the rudimentary understanding of the natural disaster which is called Tornadoes.

They will be able to understand the mechanism which comes into play in order to creat a Tornado. The reader will under the scale Fujita. The display demonstrates with graphics the devastation effect of F0 to F5 scale of a Tornado.

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The readers can also learn about Earthquakes, Hurricane, Volcanoes and Tsunamis from the same site.

They can watch the lesson in flash play or as PDF files or HTML display as per the capabilities of the devices which they are using to access the internet. It is strongly recommended that they should prefer flash display which is more communicative.

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What are Hurricanes?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Animated guide: Hurricanes

The site as shown above will help the readers to develop the rudimentary understanding of the natural disaster which is called Hurricane.

They will be able to understand the following terms.

Hurricane,

Typhoons

Cyclones.

Further, with the help of graphics, different dimensions of a hurricane can be understood.

The reader will also understand the scales used to measure the hurricane. It explains the Saffir-Simpson Scale. It also gives data of the category 1 to 5 of a hurricane.

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The readers can also learn about Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis from the same site.

They can watch the lesson in flash play or as PDF files or HTML display as per the capabilities of the devices which they are using to access the internet. It is strongly recommended that they should prefer flash display which is more communicative.

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Sources:

How do earthquakes take place?

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | How earthquakes happen

The above suggested link from the BBC site can help the readers about the rudimentary geography. Such questions appears in Prelims. They are objective type questions based on the core understanding of the fundamentals.

The readers can learn about the following terms:

Hypocentre

P waves,

S waves,

Epicentre

Surface Waves,

Rayleigh Waves

Love Waves


The readers can also learn about the man default centre or the world plates all over the world. They can also learn about the core structure of the Earth crust. All the terms are well illustrated.

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The readers can also learn about Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Volcanoes and Tsunamis from the same site.

They can watch the lesson in flash play or as PDF files or HTML display as per the capabilities of the devices which they are using to access the internet. It is strongly recommended that they should prefer flash display which is more communicative.

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Source: Earth crust graphics from BBC News
Terms further links from Wikipedia