Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets violated NATO member Estonia’s airspace over the Gulf of Finland for 12 minutes. The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost part of the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, covering 30,000 sq.km. It extends 400 km east to west and 19–130 km north to south, bordered by Finland, Russia, and Estonia. Capitals Helsinki (Finland) and Tallinn (Estonia) lie on its shores, with St. Petersburg at the eastern end. The gulf is shallow, average depth 38 m, low salinity (6‰), and freezes 3–5 months in winter. It receives Neva and Narva rivers and the Saimaa Canal.

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Minor volcanic eruptions occurred twice on September 13 and 20, 2025, at Barren Island in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Barren Island is India’s only active volcano and located in the Andaman Sea. It lies above the subduction zone of the Indian and Burmese tectonic plates. Past eruptions were recorded in 1787, 1991, 2005, 2017, and 2022.

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India’s only mud volcano at Baratang, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has recently erupted. It is located in the North and Middle Andaman district, about 150 km from Port Blair. Previous eruption occurred in 2005 due to oceanic seismic shifts. Mud volcanoes in Baratang are the only known volcanoes in the Indian subcontinent. The eruption is significant for geological study and tourism in the region.

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A rare burst of winter rains in Chile’s Atacama Desert has triggered the “Desierto Florido” or flowering desert phenomenon. It transformed one of Earth’s driest landscapes into vast carpets of fuchsia wildflowers visible even from space. The Atacama Desert is the world’s driest non-polar desert, located in northern Chile. It stretches about 1,000–1,100 kilometres between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes Mountains. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) use it as a Mars-like testing site due to its extreme dryness and high ultraviolet radiation. The bloom is caused by Cistanthe longiscapa, locally known as “pata de guanaco.” This annual herb lies dormant for years and blooms rapidly after rare rains.

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Myanmar has assured India that there is no Chinese presence at the Coco Islands in the Bay of Bengal. Coco Islands are a small group of islands located in the Bay of Bengal, under Yangon Region, Myanmar. Great Coco Island, the largest, is located 55 km from India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Geologically, the islands are an extension of the Arakan (Rakhine) Mountains, forming a chain that submerges and re-emerges as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The islands share the same topography as India’s Andaman & Nicobar Islands, making them strategically important for maritime security. The assurance comes amid regional security concerns in the Bay of Bengal.

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An artificial intelligence (AI) model has revealed new geological structures at Campi Flegrei volcano, located in Italy. A clear “ring fault” was detected, which could trigger magnitude 5 earthquakes. Campi Flegrei, also called the Phlegraean Fields, is an active volcanic region in the densely populated Bay of Naples, Italy. It is a volcanic system, not a single volcano, spread across a large caldera. It is the largest active volcanic caldera in Europe, bigger and more active than Mount Vesuvius.

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Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki volcano in Indonesia recently erupted, spewing volcanic ash up to 10 km high, leading authorities to raise the alert to its highest level. It is an active stratovolcano and part of the twin-peaked Lewotobi volcanic complex, along with Lewotobi Perempuan, meaning “female” in Indonesian, while “Laki-laki” means “male.” The volcano is located on the island of Flores in East Nusa Tenggara province, about 30 km southeast of Maumere city, Indonesia. It lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone known for frequent volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.

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The Rincon de la Vieja volcano in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, had a moderate phreatic eruption recently. It sent a 700-meter-high plume of water vapor, gas, and aerosols, drifting west with the wind. Wet sediments stayed inside the crater, and no ash fall was reported in nearby areas. The Rincon de la Vieja volcano is located in Costa Rica, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste. It is part of the Rincon de la Vieja National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Recently, a new study found that land-use change caused the loss of nearly 75% of natural plant species on the lower slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. Mount Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania. It is Africa’s tallest mountain (5,895 metres) and the world’s largest free-standing mountain, meaning it is not part of any range. It is a stratovolcano made up of three volcanic cones — Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira.

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Lake Suchitlán in El Salvador is facing a crisis due to the rapid spread of invasive water lettuce. Lake Suchitlán is located in El Salvador. Water lettuce is a perennial, free-floating aquatic weed found in tropical regions across Asia, Africa, and the Americas. It is also called water cabbage, Nile cabbage, or shellflower. The plant has lettuce-like leaves with long, feathery white to tan roots hanging below.