Geography
World Regional Geography and Mapping
GS Paper I
World Regional Geography — Quick Revision
One-page UPSC world-mapping revision: straits, canals, rivers, mountains, peaks, deserts, lakes and seas with neighbours, waterfalls and islands.
SyllabusGS I · Indian and world geography — physical, social and economic geography of the world; geographical features and their location
A last-week revision sheet for world mapping. Revise it with an atlas open — each row is a place to locate, not just a fact to memorise.
Straits and Canals
| Strait / canal | Connects | Separates |
|---|---|---|
| Hormuz | Persian Gulf – Gulf of Oman | Iran – Oman |
| Bab-el-Mandeb | Red Sea – Gulf of Aden | Yemen – Djibouti/Eritrea |
| Malacca | Andaman Sea – South China Sea | Malay Peninsula – Sumatra |
| Sunda | Java Sea – Indian Ocean | Java – Sumatra |
| Gibraltar | Mediterranean – Atlantic | Spain – Morocco |
| Bosporus | Black Sea – Sea of Marmara | Europe – Asia (Türkiye) |
| Dardanelles | Sea of Marmara – Aegean | Gallipoli – Anatolia (Türkiye) |
| Kerch | Black Sea – Sea of Azov | Crimea – Russia |
| Dover | North Sea – English Channel | England – France |
| Bering | Arctic – Bering Sea | Russia – Alaska |
| Magellan | Atlantic – Pacific | South America – Tierra del Fuego |
| Palk | Bay of Bengal – Palk Bay | India – Sri Lanka |
| Suez Canal (1869) | Mediterranean – Red Sea | No locks; Egypt |
| Panama Canal (1914) | Atlantic – Pacific | Lock canal; Gatun Lake |
| Kiel Canal | North Sea – Baltic | Germany |
Near India: Ten Degree Channel (Andamans–Nicobars), Duncan Passage (South Andaman–Little Andaman), Coco Channel (North Andaman–Coco Islands of Myanmar), Nine Degree Channel (Minicoy–main Lakshadweep), Eight Degree Channel (Minicoy–Maldives).
Rivers — Where They End
| River | Mouth |
|---|---|
| Nile | Mediterranean |
| Amazon, Congo, Niger*, Orange, Orinoco | Atlantic (*via the Gulf of Guinea) |
| Zambezi, Limpopo | Indian Ocean |
| Tigris–Euphrates | Persian Gulf (as the Shatt al-Arab) |
| Mekong | South China Sea |
| Yangtze | East China Sea |
| Huang He | Bohai Sea |
| Ob, Yenisei, Lena | Arctic Ocean |
| Volga | Caspian Sea (inland) |
| Amu Darya, Syr Darya | Aral Sea (inland) |
| Jordan | Dead Sea (inland) |
| Danube | Black Sea |
| Rhine | North Sea |
| Mississippi, Rio Grande | Gulf of Mexico |
| Colorado | Gulf of California |
| St Lawrence | Atlantic |
High-yield facts
- Congo crosses the Equator twice; Limpopo crosses the Tropic of Capricorn twice; in India, the Mahi crosses the Tropic of Cancer twice.
- Danube — ten countries; Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, Belgrade.
- Mekong — China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam.
- Nile — White Nile + Blue Nile meet at Khartoum; flows north.
- Volga — longest river in Europe; Yangtze — longest in Asia.
- Victoria Falls — Zambezi; Itaipu Dam — Paraná; Three Gorges — Yangtze; Kariba — Zambezi.
Mountains and Peaks
| Young fold | Old fold |
|---|---|
| Himalaya, Alps, Andes, Rockies, Atlas, Zagros | Urals, Appalachians, Aravallis |
| Continent | Highest peak |
|---|---|
| Asia | Everest |
| South America | Aconcagua (Argentina) |
| North America | Denali / Mount McKinley (Alaska) |
| Africa | Kilimanjaro (Tanzania) |
| Europe | Elbrus (Russia, Caucasus) |
| Antarctica | Vinson Massif |
| Australia | Kosciuszko |
- Pamirs — “Roof of the World”. Urals — traditional Europe–Asia boundary. Pyrenees — France–Spain. Drakensberg — South Africa–Lesotho. Andes — longest continental range.
Deserts
| Desert | Country | Cause |
|---|---|---|
| Sahara | North Africa | Subtropical high |
| Arabian (Rub’ al Khali) | Arabian Peninsula | Subtropical high |
| Thar | India–Pakistan | Subtropical high |
| Kalahari | Botswana and neighbours | Interior basin |
| Namib | Namibia | Benguela current |
| Atacama | Chile | Humboldt current + Andes rain shadow |
| Patagonian | Argentina | Andes rain shadow (cold) |
| Gobi | Mongolia–China | Continentality (cold) |
| Taklamakan | China (Tarim Basin) | Enclosed basin (cold) |
| Karakum / Kyzylkum | Turkmenistan / Uzbekistan–Kazakhstan | Continentality |
Lakes, Seas and Neighbours
| Water body | Key fact / neighbours |
|---|---|
| Caspian Sea | Largest lake by area; saline; Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan |
| Lake Superior | Largest freshwater lake by area |
| Lake Baikal | Deepest lake; largest freshwater volume (Russia) |
| Lake Victoria | Largest in Africa; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania; White Nile |
| Lake Titicaca | High-altitude lake; Peru–Bolivia |
| Dead Sea | Lowest exposed land point on Earth; Jordan, Israel, West Bank |
| Aral Sea | Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan; shrunk by irrigation diversions |
| Black Sea | Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia |
| Persian Gulf | Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Oman |
| Red Sea | Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Yemen (Djibouti at its southern mouth) |
| Baltic Sea | Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Denmark |
| Great Lakes | Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior (HOMES); only Michigan lies wholly in the USA |
Waterfalls, Islands, Landlocked States
| Item | Fact |
|---|---|
| Angel Falls | Venezuela — highest uninterrupted waterfall |
| Victoria Falls | Zambezi; Zambia–Zimbabwe |
| Niagara Falls | Between Lakes Erie and Ontario; USA–Canada |
| Iguazu Falls | Argentina–Brazil |
| Largest islands | Greenland > New Guinea > Borneo > Madagascar |
| Largest landlocked country | Kazakhstan |
| Doubly landlocked | Uzbekistan, Liechtenstein |
| Landlocked in South America | Bolivia, Paraguay |
Common Traps
Traps to avoid
- A strait connects water and separates land.
- The Volga ends in the Caspian, not the Black Sea.
- Bosporus links the Black Sea to Marmara; Kerch links it to Azov.
- Gobi and Patagonian are cold deserts.
- Only Lake Michigan of the Great Lakes lies entirely within the USA.
Related Topics
- Straits, Rivers, Mountains and Deserts
- World Regional Geography — practice questions
- Major Biomes of the World
- Ocean Currents, Temperature and Salinity
- Regional and Global Groupings
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