UPSC Prelims 2017 · Question 4 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2017 question on Mediterranean Border Countries
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2017
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectGeography
- TopicIndian Map-Based Geography
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries?
1. Jordan
2. Iraq
3. Lebanon
4. Syria
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Show answer
Answer: C. 3 and 4 only
Verdict
The answer is 3 and 4 only, that is Lebanon and Syria. Jordan and Iraq have no Mediterranean coastline.
Analysis
On the eastern shore of the Mediterranean the coastal states running from north to south are Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Israel, followed by Egypt. Statements 3 and 4 are therefore CORRECT. Statement 1 is INCORRECT because Jordan lies inland behind Israel and its only sea access is a short frontage on the Gulf of Aqaba, which opens into the Red Sea. Statement 2 is INCORRECT because Iraq is further east still and its only coastline is a narrow outlet on the Persian Gulf at Umm Qasr.
Source
Standard atlas.
How to crack it
Work along the coast as a sequence rather than testing countries one by one, because a coastline is an ordered list and any country missing from it can be spotted at once. Note that UPSC asked essentially this same question in 2015, phrased as which country does not open out to the Mediterranean, with Jordan again the answer. Repeats of this kind are the strongest argument for treating old papers as live study material rather than practice.