Sudan is in news- so prepare it nicely .

#mapping #placesinnews #prelims2025

🔆Chaukhamba Peak:

✅It is a four-pillar-shaped enormous peak located in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, west of the Hindu holy town of Badrinath.
✅It is a mountain massif that has four summits, along a northeast-southwest trending ridge situated in the Gangotri group of the Garhwal Himalayas. 
✅Being named as Chaukhamba Peak I, II, III, and IV, all of them have different elevations that lie between 7,138 m and 6,854 m.
✅Chaukhamba Peak I remain the tallest of all the four summits, i.e., 7,138 m above sea level. 
✅It towers above the Gangotri glacier, forming the eastern anchor of the group.

#mapping
#Places_in_news

🔆 Lake Erie

✅It is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes of North America.
✅It forms the boundary between Canada(Ontario) to the north and the United States to the west, south, and east.
✅The lake’s principal tributary rivers are the Detroit (carrying the discharge of Lake Huron), Huron, and Raisin rivers of Michigan etc.
✅The lake discharges at its eastern end through the Niagara River.
✅It is an important link in the  Lawrence Seaway.

📍Microcystin?
✅It is a single-celled freshwater cyanobacterium that forms colonies surrounded by mucilage.
✅The genus Microcystis contains several species which often form massive blooms and which produce toxins.
✅Microcystin is a potent liver toxin and possible human carcinogen.
✅It inhibits the activities of protein phosphatase-1 and protein phosphatase-2A, which leads to disruption of the cytoskeleton network and subsequent cell death.


#gs3
#mapping
#environment

🔆Caspian Sea

📍In news?
✅The Caspian Sea has been shrinking since the mid-1990s, but the rate at which it's disappearing has sped up since 2005.

✅It is the world’s largest inland body of water, covering a total surface area of about 386,400 sq km .
✅It is located between Asia and Europe.
✅It lies to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the vast steppe of Central Asia. 
✅Bordering countries: It is bordered by Russia and Azerbaijan on the west, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan on the north and east, and Iran on the south. 
✅The sea was named for the Kaspi, ancient peoples who once lived on its western shores.

✅Three major rivers—the Volga, the Ural, and the Terek—empty into the Caspian from the north.
✅Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, is the largest city on the Caspian. Another important city along the Caspian is Iran’s Nowshahr.
✅It is the source of most of the world’s caviar. 

#mapping
#Places_in_news

🔆 Mount Etna: Europe's Largest Active Volcano

📍 Location:
✅ Mount Etna is located on the eastern coast of Sicily, Italy, near the city of Catania.

📍 Geological Significance:
✅ It is Europe's largest and most active stratovolcano, with a history of frequent eruptions spanning thousands of years.
✅ Formed at the convergence of the African and Eurasian tectonic plates, it is a prominent feature of the Mediterranean tectonic zone.

📍 Recent Eruption (2025):
✅ On Friday, Mount Etna erupted, spewing lava, ash, and smoke into the sky.
✅ The eruption forced the closure of Catania Airport as ash disrupted airspace and the surrounding areas.

📍 Tourism & Cultural Importance:
✅ Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mount Etna attracts millions of visitors annually for its geological and cultural significance.

📍 Global Connection:
✅ Mount Etna highlights the importance of monitoring active volcanoes worldwide to minimize risks and study Earth's dynamic processes.

#Geography #Disaster_Management #mapping

🔆Thilawa Port

📍In news?

✅India delivered 442 metric tonnes of food aid to Myanmar, including rice, cooking oil, noodles, and biscuits, through the Thilawa Port, as part of "Operation Brahma" after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar on March 28th.

✅Thilawa Port is the largest port terminal in Myanmar and, alongside the Port of Yangon, is one of the two main ports of Yangon

📍Yangon river :

✅The Yangon River, also known as the Rangoon River, is a marine estuary in southern Myanmar formed by the confluence of the Pegu and Myitmaka rivers, emptying into the Gulf of Martaban of the Andaman Sea, and is navigable by ocean-going vessels

#gs2
#prelims
#mapping
#Places_in_news

Dams built on the Indus River System of Importance


Kishanganga (Jhelum): Operational since 2018, it diverts water from a tributary that feeds Pakistan's Mangla Dam.

Ratle (Chenab): Still under construction, but its storage could further reduce water to Pakistani Punjab.

Shahpurkandi (Ravi): Now redirects Ravi waters entirely to Indian use.

Ujh (Ravi): Planned project that may reduce downstream flows even more.
#prelims #Places_in_news #mapping

🔆Shahid Rajaee Port

✅Recently, a massive explosion occurred at Shahid Rajaee Port near the southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas, resulting in 18 deaths and 800 injuries.

📍Strategic Importance of Shahid Rajaee Port

✅Location: The port is located near the Strait of Hormuz, through which nearly 20% of global oil trade passes, making it a critical chokepoint in global energy security.

✅Economic role: It is Iran’s largest and most technologically advanced container port, handling a significant share of the country’s import-export trade.

#mapping

India's Sacred Geography #mapping #prelims

India Mountain Ranges #mapping