Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, environmentalists raised concerns over unchecked tourism and construction in the Mahendragiri Hills of Odisha, despite its Biodiversity Heritage Site status since 2022. It is located in Gajapati district at 1,501 meters elevation. It is part of the Eastern Ghats. The hills host 1,348 plant species and 388 animal species, including many endemic and threatened ones. Culturally, they are linked to the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and believed to be the site of Lord Parashurama’s penance.

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Recently, more than 1,200 earthquakes around Greece’s Santorini Island showed that Santorini and Kolumbo volcano share an underground magma reservoir. The Santorini and Kolumbo volcanoes are located in Greece, in the southern Aegean Sea, forming part of the Hellenic Volcanic Arc. Seismic and GPS data (2024–25) proved both volcanoes are interconnected through a common magma system. This is the first scientific evidence of their magmatic link, complicating eruption forecasting and highlighting the need for real-time monitoring. Both lie in the Hellenic Volcanic Arc, one of Europe’s most active volcanic zones, critical for global disaster management studies.

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A collaborative research team led by University of Tasmania scientists completed a 54-day voyage on CSIRO research vessel (RV) Investigator to study the 2022 Hunga Volcano eruption in Tonga. It is a submarine stratovolcano in the Tongan archipelago, southern Pacific Ocean. The volcano has erupted regularly over past decades. On January 15, 2022, it had an explosive eruption, one of the largest of the 21st century. The eruption sent volcanic plume into the stratosphere, triggered shock waves, and caused tsunami waves across ocean basins. The voyage collected data to understand volcanic impacts, seafloor changes, and tsunami risks, aiding Pacific disaster preparedness.

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A 6.7 magnitude earthquake recently struck Leyte Island in the Philippines. Leyte Island is part of the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is the eighth-largest island and sixth most populated in the country. The island has forests, mountains, and the Leyte Valley, a major farming area. Historically, known as Tandaya, Leyte saw rapid population growth post-1900.

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India’s only mud volcano at Baratang, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has recently erupted. It is located in the North and Middle Andaman district, about 150 km from Port Blair. Previous eruption occurred in 2005 due to oceanic seismic shifts. Mud volcanoes in Baratang are the only known volcanoes in the Indian subcontinent. The eruption is significant for geological study and tourism in the region.

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A rare burst of winter rains in Chile’s Atacama Desert has triggered the “Desierto Florido” or flowering desert phenomenon. It transformed one of Earth’s driest landscapes into vast carpets of fuchsia wildflowers visible even from space. The Atacama Desert is the world’s driest non-polar desert, located in northern Chile. It stretches about 1,000–1,100 kilometres between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) use it as a Mars-like testing site due to its extreme dryness and high ultraviolet radiation. The bloom is caused by Cistanthe longiscapa, locally known as “pata de guanaco.” This annual herb lies dormant for years and blooms rapidly after rare rains.

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The Taftan Volcano in Iran is showing signs of reawakening after 700,000 years. It is a 12,927-foot or 3,940-metre-high semi-active stratovolcano. It lies in southeastern Iran, about 56 kilometres from the Pakistan border. It is the only active volcano in the Makran continental volcanic arc. The volcano formed due to the subduction of the Arabian Ocean crust beneath the Eurasian continent. It has two summits named Narkuh and Matherkuh. Taftan has an active hydrothermal system with sulfur-emitting vents called fumaroles. It has not erupted in recorded human history.

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Lake Suchitlán in El Salvador is facing a crisis due to the rapid spread of invasive water lettuce. Lake Suchitlán is located in El Salvador. Water lettuce is a perennial, free-floating aquatic weed found in tropical regions across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It is also called water cabbage, Nile cabbage, or shellflower. The plant has lettuce-like leaves with long, feathery white to tan roots hanging below.

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A 5.8 magnitude earthquake recently struck Negros Island, Philippines. Negros Island is part of the Visayan Islands in central Philippines. It is the fourth largest and third most populous island in the country. The island is boot-shaped, measuring 217 km long and 35–79 km wide. It is separated from Panay Island by the Guimaras Strait and from Cebu Island by the Tanon Strait. The Visayan Sea borders it to the north and the Sulu Sea to the south. A central mountain range runs through the island, containing Mount Canlaon (2,465 m) — an active volcano and the highest peak on Negros.

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Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki erupted on 13 November 2025, sending volcanic ash 10 km (6.2 miles) into the sky. The Geological Agency of Indonesia raised the alert system to its highest level following the eruption. It is located on Flores Island in East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia. It is part of a twin-volcano system, with Lewotobi Laki-Laki (male) and Lewotobi Perempuan (female). These are stratovolcanoes, formed by repeated lava layers. Indonesia frequently experiences volcanic eruptions as it lies on the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire,’ where tectonic activity causes earthquakes and tsunamis