UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 85 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Barren Island Volcano
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectGeography
- TopicIndian Geography
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeStatement
Consider the following statements:
1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian territory.
2. Barren Island is about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Show answer
Answer: A. 1 only
Verdict
Only statement 1 is correct, so the answer is (a) 1 only.
Statement by statement
Statement 1 is CORRECT. Barren Island is India's only active volcano.
Statement 2 is INCORRECT. It lies 140 km east of Port Blair, which is in South Andaman, whereas Great Nicobar is the southernmost part of the Andaman and Nicobar group and lies well south of Port Blair. The distance is right but the reference point is wrong.
Statement 3 is INCORRECT. The volcano had lain dormant for more than 150 years until a major eruption in 1991, but it has shown intermittent activity since, including eruptions in 1995, 2005 and 2017.
Source
Atlas; The Hindu report on the Barren Island volcano erupting again.
How to crack it
Statement 3 contradicts statement 1 if you read them together, since a volcano described as active cannot also have been inactive since 1991. That internal inconsistency settles the question without any dates. Statement 2 shows the other standard trick, keeping a correct number and swapping the landmark, so always check what a distance is measured from and not just how far it is.