SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 1 · General Awareness · Question 10 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

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Which statements accurately describe water bodies in the Indian Desert? 1. Streams are perennial and flow year-round. 2. Most streams disappear into the sand.

(a)Only 1
(b)Only 2
(c)1 and 2 both are correct
(d)Neither 1 nor 2 are correct

Answer

Why

Correct — B. NCERT's Class IX geography says the Indian Desert's streams appear in the rainy season and soon disappear into the sand, lacking the water to reach the sea.

So statement 2 stands and statement 1, perennial streams, fails. Rainfall is below 150 mm a year, and even the Luni, the region's large river, is ephemeral.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Only 1 — Reverses the facts. NCERT calls the desert's rivers ephemeral: streams run in the rainy season and then vanish into the sand.
(c)
1 and 2 both are correct — Statement 1 is false. With rainfall below 150 mm a year, streams cannot flow year-round, and NCERT calls the desert's rivers ephemeral.
(d)
Neither 1 nor 2 are correct — Statement 2 is true. NCERT says the desert's streams disappear into the sand soon after the rains, since they cannot reach the sea.

Concept

The Indian Desert, or Marusthali, lies north-west of the Aravali hills: undulating sand with longitudinal dunes and barchans, and rainfall below 150 mm a year.

Most rivers here are ephemeral. Some streams end in a lake or playa, a case of inland drainage, and the brackish water there is a source of salt.

The Luni, Rajasthan's largest river system west of the Aravali, rises near Pushkar and flows south-west into the Rann of Kachchh. NCERT calls the whole system ephemeral.

NCERT's Class XI book words it more cautiously: most rivers are ephemeral, and some streams end in lakes or playas. Either way statement 1 fails, and statement 2 follows the Class IX wording.

Key facts

NCERT (Class IX): streams in the Indian Desert appear in the rainy season and soon disappear into the sand.
The Indian Desert receives rainfall below 150 mm a year.
The Luni rises near Pushkar and flows south-west to the Rann of Kachchh, and its entire system is ephemeral.
Streams that end in a lake or playa are a case of inland drainage, and the playas' brackish water yields salt.

Study next

Barchans and longitudinal dunesSalt lakes and playas of RajasthanRivers rising in the Aravali: the Luni and the Banas

Common traps

Assuming a named river like the Luni must flow year-round.
Carrying the Himalayan rivers' perennial flow over to the desert.

The Luni is also asked at 19 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.13, on the states it flows through.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Geography — all 135 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.