Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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A “breathing” cap of magma has been discovered inside the Yellowstone supervolcano, which might help predict when the volcano will next erupt, according to a new study. The Yellowstone supervolcano lies beneath Yellowstone National Park, in the western United States. It is one of the largest active volcanic systems in the world. The supervolcano is a caldera, a large crater formed by a major eruption, and is an active supervolcanic system. The caldera measures 55 x 72 km (34 x 45 miles) in size.

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Historian M.G.S. Narayanan, who played a major role in the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP), was recently remembered in the Kerala State Assembly. The ancient Muziris Port was a famous trading hub on the Malabar Coast in present-day Kerala, active from around the 1st century BCE to the early medieval period. It was especially known for its spice trade, mainly black pepper, which was often called black gold. Other important exports included semi-precious stones, ivory, and pearls. Muziris connected South India with Persia, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean world, including Greek and Roman traders.

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Scientists from China, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) recently studied the inner workings of Uturuncu, a “zombie” volcano in Bolivia, and found that there is no immediate risk of eruption. Uturuncu is a stratovolcano located in the Andes Mountains of southwestern Bolivia and is made up mainly of dacitic lava domes and flows. It sits on top of a massive underground magma reservoir called the Altiplano-Puna Magma Body (APMB), which extends under southern Bolivia, northern Chile, and northern Argentina. Uturuncu is called a “zombie” volcano because it shows signs of activity without actual eruptions.

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Following protests in Sindh, Pakistan has suspended its canals project, including the Cholistan Canal intended to irrigate the Cholistan Desert. The Cholistan Desert (Rohi) is located in the western part of the Thar Desert in Pakistan. Historically, it was once irrigated by the Hakra River, which changed its course around 600 B.C., making the area inhospitable. The desert holds historical significance as it was home to an Indus Valley culture focused on agriculture. The region also housed several medieval forts that protected and facilitated desert caravan routes.

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Mackinac Island is a small island city in northern Michigan, United States. It is located where Lake Huron meets Lake Michigan, two of the Great Lakes of North America. The island covers about 4.35 square miles and is known for its natural beauty and peaceful environment. It is surrounded by limestone cliffs and rises up to 339 feet in the eastern part. A unique feature is that motor vehicles are banned, making horses the main mode of transport. Recently, the island gained attention again as a rare car-free haven in America’s car manufacturing state.

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Recently, scientists observed repeated unrest at Campi Flegrei between 1982–1984 and 2011–2024, involving land uplift, earthquakes, and underground rumbling due to rising fluid pressure. Campi Flegrei, also called the Phlegraean Fields, is an active volcanic system located near Naples, Italy. Unlike single-cone volcanoes like Mount Vesuvius, Campi Flegrei is a large caldera, which is a sunken volcanic area formed after a huge eruption. The caldera spans about 12 to 15 kilometers and was formed by a massive eruption nearly 39,000 years ago. That eruption may have triggered climate changes that contributed to the decline of Neanderthals.

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Scientists from the University of Oxford have suggested a new way to monitor volcanic eruptions using a method called shear-wave splitting. Shear-wave splitting happens when seismic waves travel at different speeds depending on their direction, especially through rocks with tiny cracks. This technique was studied at Mount Ontake in Japan, which is an active stratovolcano located on Honshū Island, near Tokyo. Mount Ontake is Japan’s second-highest volcano and lies in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

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Japan’s Sakurajima volcano erupted recently, sending a huge ash plume 3,000 metres above its crater. Sakurajima is one of the most active volcanoes in Japan and is located on the southern tip of Kyushu Island, just 4 kilometers from Kagoshima City. It stands at an elevation of 1117 metres and has a circumference of about 50 kilometres. It is a stratovolcano, formed from layers of lava and ash at a convergent plate boundary. The volcano was once an island, but a massive eruption in 1914 connected it to the mainland. It lies on the south rim of the Aira Caldera and has two main peaks — the North Peak and the South Peak. Sakurajima erupts frequently with ash, pyroclastic flows, volcanic bombs, and poisonous gases.

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Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki on Flores Island in Indonesia recently erupted, sending volcanic ash nearly a kilometer into the sky. It is located on Flores Island, Indonesia. The volcano is in East Nusa Tenggara province. Mount Lewotobi is part of a twin-volcano system, with Lewotobi Laki-laki (male) erupting, while Lewotobi Perempuan (female) remains inactive. Both are stratovolcanoes, formed by repeated layers of lava, making them common globally. Indonesia frequently experiences volcanic eruptions as it lies on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an area prone to earthquakes, volcanic activity, and tsunamis due to active tectonic plates.

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India recently welcomed the United Kingdom’s decision to return the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including the Diego Garcia atoll, to Mauritius under a historic agreement. The Chagos Islands are located in the central Indian Ocean, about 1,600 km south of India’s southern tip. These islands have been a British Overseas Territory since November 8, 1965. Key islands in the group include Diego Garcia, Danger Island, Egmont Islands, Eagle Islands, Nelsons Island, Peros Banhos, Three Brothers, and the Solomon Islands. Diego Garcia, the largest island covering 30 square kilometers, hosts a major United States military base. The islands are flat and low-lying, with most areas not rising more than 2 meters above sea level and having no rivers or lakes. They experience a tropical marine climate with high heat and humidity, moderated by trade winds.