Places in News Current Affairs MCQs

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Recently, Google announced plans to set up a large Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centre on Christmas Island, located in the Indian Ocean. The project follows a cloud partnership signed earlier this year with the Australian Department of Defence. Christmas Island lies about 360 km south of Java and 1,400 km northwest of mainland Australia. It is an external territory of Australia. The island forms the summit of an oceanic mountain, with Murray Hill (361 metres) as its highest point. Its main settlement and port is Flying Fish Cove, situated on the northeastern coast.

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Japan’s Sakurajima volcano recently erupted several times, sending ash up to 4.4 kilometres high. It is located on the southern tip of Kyushu Island near Kagoshima city in Japan. It is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes with frequent eruptions. Sakurajima is a stratovolcano made of layered lava and ash on a convergent plate boundary. It is an andesitic volcano with high gas content and very viscous magma at the edge of the Aira Caldera

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Udupi Police recently filed a case against eight people for entering the restricted Dariya Bahadur Island, highlighting its protected status. The island, also called Bhadragada Island or Lighthouse Island, lies near Malpe Beach in Udupi district, Karnataka. It is a small rocky island with a breadth of about 1.6 sq km and an area of less than 250 yards. It is known for its scenic buildings and the historic Daira Bahadurgarh Fort built by Basavappa Naik of Bidanur.

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The Rajasthan High Court recently sought a detailed conservation plan from the state government due to rising ecological threats to Gadisar Lake in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Gadisar Lake is a 14th-century artificial reservoir originally built by Raja Rawal Jaisal and later renovated by Maharawal Gadsi Singh, giving it its present name. It historically served as Jaisalmer’s main water source through an efficient rainwater harvesting system in the desert. Encroachment, urban pressure, siltation and pollution have reduced its catchment area and damaged ecological balance. The lake supports local biodiversity and migratory birds, making it a vital urban-wetland ecosystem.

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Nearly 70% of corals at UNESCO-listed Ningaloo Reef have died due to Australia’s most intense and prolonged marine heatwave. Ningaloo Reef is Australia’s largest fringing coral reef and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for rich marine life and whale-shark aggregations. It is one of the world’s longest near-shore reef systems, located on the north-west coast of Western Australia, around 1,200 km north of Perth in the East Indian Ocean. The reef formed over millennia through coral limestone growth on a shallow shelf, supported by tectonic uplift of Cape Range and stable sea levels.

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ICAR–Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute launched a stock enhancement programme for short-neck clam (Paphia malabarica) in Ashtamudi Lake showing early signs of recovery. Short-neck clam is a valuable bivalve mollusk and India’s first Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified species. It is the major fishery resource of brackish water Ashtamudi Lake.

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India is increasing its military presence in Lakshadweep with a new naval detachment on Bitra Island becoming fully operational next year. Air Force facilities are also being expanded on Agatti and Minicoy islands. Bitra Island is located in the northern region of Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea and is the smallest inhabited island of the Union Territory. The island holds strategic importance due to its key position in the Arabian Sea. Bitra will become the third island in Lakshadweep with a defence establishment, joining INS Dweeprakshak in Kavaratti and INS Jatayu in Minicoy.

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Fresh lava fountains erupted from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, almost a year after its ongoing eruptive phase began. Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, located in the southeastern part of Hawaii Island, United States. It is a shield-type volcano, formed due to the Hawaiian hot spot. The summit caldera contains the lava lake Halema‘uma‘u, considered the home of the Hawaiian volcano goddess, Pele.

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After record-breaking rains, an ancient lake in Death Valley National Park, previously vanished, has reappeared. Death Valley National Park is located in southeastern California, USA, and is the hottest and driest place in North America. It holds the record for the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States. It is the largest national park in the continental US. The valley is a rift valley (graben) formed by the sinking of rock between major block-faulted mountains running parallel in the east and west.

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Bezymianny Volcano, a cone‑shaped stratovolcano on the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, is now rising faster than scientists expected after a massive past explosion. It lies on the southeast slope of the extinct Kamen Volcano, separated by a high narrow saddle. The east and west slopes have wide, sloping valleys; upper slopes feature several lava flows, and lower slopes have domes along the southern and western sides. Since 1955, Bezymianny has had eruptions with dome growth, explosions, pyroclastic flows, ash plumes, and ashfall. The 1956 eruption was one of the most significant explosive events of the 20th century.