Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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A hidden landmass named the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent has been discovered under the icy waters of the Davis Strait. The Davis Strait is a bay in the northern Atlantic Ocean located between southeastern Baffin Island in Canada and southwestern Greenland. It separates Baffin Bay in the north from the Labrador Sea in the south. The Davis Strait forms a part of the Northwest Passage, which is a sea route through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago connecting the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. The strait stretches about 650 kilometers from north to south and is 320 to 640 kilometers wide. It is one of the widest straits in the world.

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Recently, Indonesia and China reaffirmed their commitment to maritime cooperation amid rising tensions over Chinese activity near the Natuna Islands. Natuna Island, also known as Bunguran Island, is the largest in the Natuna Islands archipelago. It is located in the northernmost part of Indonesia’s Riau Islands Province in the South China Sea. The island lies roughly halfway between Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo Island. It features Mount Ranai, the highest point on the island, which stands at 1,035 meters above sea level. This region is strategically important and often sees overlapping maritime claims.

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Recently, former United States President Donald Trump proposed formal recognition of Crimea as Russian territory, challenging America’s long-standing opposition to the annexation. Crimea is an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine, located between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The Crimean Peninsula connects to Ukraine through the 8-kilometre-wide Perekop Isthmus and to Russia via the Crimean Bridge across the Kerch Strait. Historically known as the Tauric Peninsula, Crimea has seen control shift between empires like the Ottomans and Russians. The region has the Crimean Mountains, rivers like Salhir and Alma, and important resources on the Kerch Peninsula.

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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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A massive explosion recently hit Iran’s Shahid Rajaee Port in Bandar Abbas, causing a huge fire and leading to many deaths and injuries. The blast is suspected to have been caused by sodium perchlorate, a chemical used in ballistic missile propulsion. Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s largest and most advanced commercial port. It is located near the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route through which about 26% of the world’s oil is transported. The port manages 85% of Iran’s container cargo, 52% of its oil trade, and over half of its total maritime cargo. It lies along the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), linking the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea, Russia, and Northern Europe.

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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.

Notes:
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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Recently, the Chhattisgarh High Court has been closely monitoring development works at Madku Dweep due to its cultural and historical value. Madku Dweep is located on the Shivnath River, the longest tributary of the Mahanadi River, in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh. The island covers about 24 hectares and is named Madku because its shape resembles a frog. It is also called Kedar Tirth and Harihar Kshetra Kedar Dweep. Archaeologists have found ancient stone tools, coins, and inscriptions dating back to the 3rd century BC.