Match List-I with List-II and select the correct answer using the code given below the Lists: List-I (Temperate Grassland): A. Prairies, B. Steppes, C. Pampas, D. Veldt List-II (Region): 1. Eurasia, 2. South Africa, 3. North America, 4. South America

Q: What is the answer to CAPF 2023 Paper I Q76?

C. Correct — C, A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2. Each of these four names belongs to one continent and to no other. The Prairies are the temperate grassland of interior North America, running through the American Midwest and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, so A pairs with 3. The Steppes stretch in a long belt across Eurasia from Ukraine and southern Russia through Kazakhstan towards Mongolia and Manchuria, so B pairs with 1. The Pampas are the flat, fertile grassland of Argentina and Uruguay around the Rio de la Plata, so C pairs with 4. The Veldt — the Afrikaans word for open country — is the grassland of the South African plateau, so D pairs with 2.

(a)A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
(b)A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
(c)A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
(d)A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2

Answer

Why

Correct — C, A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2. Each of these four names belongs to one continent and to no other. The Prairies are the temperate grassland of interior North America, running through the American Midwest and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, so A pairs with 3. The Steppes stretch in a long belt across Eurasia from Ukraine and southern Russia through Kazakhstan towards Mongolia and Manchuria, so B pairs with 1. The Pampas are the flat, fertile grassland of Argentina and Uruguay around the Rio de la Plata, so C pairs with 4. The Veldt — the Afrikaans word for open country — is the grassland of the South African plateau, so D pairs with 2.

Why the others are wrong

(a)A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3 — Gets Steppes and Pampas right but swaps the two remaining names, sending the Prairies to South Africa and the Veldt to North America.
(b)A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3 — Only the sequence is right; every single pairing is wrong. It puts the Prairies in South Africa, the Steppes in South America, the Pampas in Eurasia and the Veldt in North America.
(d)A-3, B-4, C-1, D-2 — Correct on the Prairies and the Veldt but interchanges Steppes and Pampas, placing the Steppes in South America and the Pampas in Eurasia.

Concept

Temperate grasslands occupy continental interiors in the mid-latitudes, far enough from the sea to be dry and too dry for forest. Rainfall is roughly 25 to 75 cm a year and falls mainly in late spring and summer; summers are hot, winters cold, and the treelessness is a product of that moisture regime rather than of soil. The deep black and chestnut soils that develop under the grass are among the most productive on Earth, which is why every one of these regions became a granary or a ranching belt.

The safest way to hold this set is to attach each name to its language and landscape. Prairie is French, from the fur traders of North America. Steppe is Russian, and the belt it names runs across Eurasia. Pampa is Quechua for a flat plain, which places it in South America. Veld or veldt is Afrikaans, which places it in South Africa. The same logic extends to the two names that were not offered here: the Downs of south-eastern Australia and the Canterbury grassland of New Zealand. Each region also has an economic signature worth carrying — wheat and maize on the Prairies, extensive pastoralism and now wheat on the Steppes, beef cattle and alfalfa on the Pampas, maize and merino sheep on the Highveld.

Key facts

Prairies — interior North America, the wheat and maize belt of the United States and Canada.
Steppes — a continuous Eurasian belt from Ukraine and southern Russia through Kazakhstan towards Mongolia and Manchuria.
Pampas — Argentina and Uruguay, around the Rio de la Plata; beef cattle, alfalfa and wheat.
Veldt — the South African plateau; the Highveld around Johannesburg carries maize and merino sheep.
Other temperate grasslands: the Downs of Australia and the Canterbury grassland of New Zealand.

One name, one continent

Prairies (French)→North America — option 3

Steppes (Russian)→Eurasia — option 1

Pampas (Quechua for a flat plain)→South America — option 4

Veldt (Afrikaans for open country)→South Africa — option 2

Not offered here→Downs — Australia; Canterbury — New Zealand

The language each word comes from points straight at the continent, which makes this match memorable rather than memorised.

Study next

Temperate versus tropical grasslands, and why the savanna carries trees while the prairie does notChernozem and chestnut soils and their agricultural importanceKoppen's climate types and where temperate grasslands fall within themCommercial grain farming and extensive commercial ranching as land-use systemsDesertification and grassland degradation in continental interiors

Common traps

Swapping Steppes and Pampas, which is what two of the three wrong options here are built on.
Placing the Veldt in South America because 'veld' sounds unfamiliar.
Confusing temperate grassland with tropical savanna — the savanna is the land of big game, the temperate grassland the land of grain.

Asked as a four-by-four matching item, so a single misplaced pair eliminates the whole option — which means you need all four, not three.

Related PYQs

NDA_GAT_2024_I_Q762024Open & attempt →

Consider the following characteristics of a grassland: 1. An extensive area of mid latitude grasslands are devoid of trees and shrubs. 2. The climate is characterised by hot summers, cold winters and relatively low rainfall occurring mainly in spring and summer. 3. In humid parts, grasses grow to a meter or more in height. On the basis of the above characteristics, select the correct grassland from the options given below:

(a) Steppes
(b) Prairies
(c) Savanna
(d) Pampas

Answer(a) Steppes

Where CAPF asks you to place the names, NDA asks you to recognise the type from its climate — mid-latitude, treeless, hot summers and cold winters with rain in spring and summer. Learning the climatic signature makes the matching item easier rather than harder.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
The Downs are the temperate grassland of which one of the following?
- (a)Australia
- (b)South Africa
- (c)Argentina
- (d)Canada
Answer(a) Australia — the Downs of the south-east, a wheat and sheep region.
practice — not a real PYQ
The Pampas grassland is drained mainly by which one of the following river systems?
- (a)Amazon
- (b)Orinoco
- (c)Parana-Plata
- (d)Sao Francisco
Answer(c) Parana-Plata — the Pampas spread around the Rio de la Plata estuary in Argentina and Uruguay.