World & Physical Geography MCQs

Notes:

• The equinox occurs twice a year, around March 20th and September 22nd, when the tilt of the Earth’s axis is not inclined towards or away from the sun.
• On the day of the equinox, the center of the sun and the Earth’s equator are in the same plane. This alignment causes the sun’s rays to shine directly on the equator, leading to nearly equal periods of day and night all over the world.
• During the equinox, the sun rises due east and sets due west, its rays shining directly on the equator.
• The equinox marks the transition from winter to spring in the northern hemisphere and from summer to autumn in the southern hemisphere.

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The precession of the Earth’s axis has a number of observable effects. First, the positions of the south and north celestial poles appear to move in circles against the space-fixed backdrop of stars, completing one circuit in 25,772 Julian years (2000 rate). Thus, while today the star Polaris lies approximately at the north celestial pole, this will change over time, and other stars will become the “north star”

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Quartzite is formed by the recrystallization of silica found in sandstone. Quartzite is a hard, non-foliated metamorphic rock that was originally sandstone. The transformation from sandstone to quartzite happens through recrystallization. The heating and pressure that causes the transformation is usually related to tectonic compression within orogenic belts.
Quartzite is composed almost entirely of quartz. The quartz grains from the original sandstone are enlarged and interlocked by recrystallization. Quartzite does not tend to be foliated because quartz crystals don’t align with the directional pressure.

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Some Important Local Winds: 
1- Chinook- Hot, dry wind in Rockies, also called `snow eater`.
2- Foehn- Hot, dry wind in the Alps
3- Khamsin- Hot, dry wind in Egypt.
4- Sirocco- Hot, moist wind from Sahara to Mediterranean Sea
5- Solano- Hot, moist wind from Sahara towards Iberian Peninsula
6- Harmattan- Hot, dry wind blowing outwards from the interior of W.Africa, also called Guinea Doctor.
7- Bora- Cold, dry wind blowing outwards from Hungary to the north of Italy (near Adriatic Sea).
8- Mistral- Very cold wind, which blows from the Alps over France
9- Punas- Cold, dry wind blowing down towards the western side of Andes.
10- Blizzard- Very cold winds in Tundra region
11- Purga- Cold wind in Russian tundra
12- Levanter- Cold wind in Spain
13- Norwester- Hot wind in New Zealand
14- Santa Ana- Hot wind in S. California in USA.
Kikuyu,  is most populous ethnic group or tribe of Kenya

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North latitude is the angular distance north of the equator, and south latitude is the angular distance south of the equator. Latitude is the angular distance between an imaginary line around a heavenly body parallel to its equator and the equator itself.

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The Labrador Current is a cold current in the North Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. It is a continuation of the West Greenland Current and the Baffin Island Current.

Notes:
• The Florida Current is a thermal ocean current that flows from the Straits of Florida around the Florida Peninsula and along the southeastern coast of the United States before joining the Gulf Stream Current near Cape Hatteras. Its contributing currents are the Loop Current and the Antilles Current.
• The Benguela Current is a cold, wide current that flows northwards along the west coast of southern Africa. It is an Eastern Boundary Current and forms the eastern flank of the South Atlantic Gyre The ocean current “begins” roughly where the eastward-flowing South Atlantic Current swings northward at the Agulhas.
• The Peruvian Current, also called the Humboldt Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America. It is an eastern boundary current flowing in the direction of the equator, and extends 500–1,000 km (310–620 mi) offshore.
• The Kuroshio a warm northeasterly ocean current off the coast of JAPAN. This current is also called the gulf stream of the Pacific or Japan Current. Kuroshio means “the black stream” in Japanese, named after the deep ultramarine color of the high salinity water, which is found flowing north of the current’s axis.

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Mars is a planet with a very similar daily cycle as the Earth. Its sidereal day is 24 hours, 37 minutes and 22 seconds and its solar day 24 hours, 39 minutes and 35 seconds. A Martian day (referred to as “sol”) is therefore approximately 40 minutes longer than a day on Earth.
Its axial tilt is most similar to Earth. Mars’ tilt is 25 degrees, just a fraction away from the Earth’s 23.5 degrees. Mars also has a very elliptical orbit. Because of this, the difference between its closest and most distant point along its orbit vary by 19%.

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Victoria Falls is a waterfall in southern Africa on the Zambezi River at the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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Palo Duro Canyon is the second largest canyon in the United states. It is a canyon system of the Caprock Escarpment, in the Texas Panhandle. It is also referred to as ‘The Grand Canyon of Texas’.