Which of the following broad physiographic regions of India contains large…
2009
Which of the following broad physiographic regions of India contains large areas in the very high earthquake damage risk zone?
Answer: C. Himalayan region — ConceptEarthquake risk zoning groups places by expected ground shaking and damage, using past seismicity, active tectonic structures, and geological setting.…
- A.
Central Indian Highland
- B.
Coastal region
- C.
Himalayan region
- D.
Indian desert
Attempted by 2 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Concept
Earthquake risk zoning groups places by expected ground shaking and damage, using past seismicity, active tectonic structures, and geological setting. Under the four-zone classification used for this 2009 examination, Zone V denotes the very high damage risk zone.
Application
The Himalayan belt formed where the Indian Plate converges with the Eurasian Plate. Its active thrust systems and continuing crustal deformation produce high seismicity; substantial Himalayan areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand were placed in Zone V.
Contrast
The Central Indian Highlands belong largely to the older Peninsular block and are not the broad Zone V belt identified here.
India's coastal plains extend across several seismic zones, so the generic coastal region is not a single very-high-risk belt.
The Indian Desert is mainly the Thar region; the localized high hazard around Kutch does not make the broad desert region the best match.
Cross-check
Government descriptions of the 2009-era BIS map list parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in Zone V, which independently matches the Himalayan belt.
Therefore, the best-supported offered answer is the Himalayan region.