Important Geographical Places in News for UPSC 2021

Israel

    

• Located in the Middle East/ West Asia.
• Opens out to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Red Sea in the South. 
• The sea of Galilee is a lake in Israel.
• Bordered by Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria. 
• [ Remember as Israel - Jels]
• Important places Occupied: Golan Heights, Gaza strip, west bank. 
• Golan Heights already asked in Prelims. Located here.
• Golan Heights is in Syria. However, the western two-thirds of this region is currently occupied by Israel, whereas the eastern third is controlled by Syria.

Mount Sinabung

    

• It has been in the news recently for its volcanic eruption.
• It is located in Indonesia.

Gaza Strip

    

• In the Headlines: Israel bombs Gaza after warning Hamas.
• Gaza Strip is located along the Mediterranean Sea just northeast of the Sinai Peninsula. 
• It is a small boat-shaped territory between Egypt and Israel.
• STATUS: 
• Under the Palestinian National Authority, according to the Oslo Accords.
• De-facto administered by Hamas since July 2007.  
• Claimed by the dejure Sovereign State of Palestine.

Azerbaijan

    

• In Headlines: Territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has re-erupted with heavy clashes.
• Azerbaijan officially called the Azerbaijani Republic, is a country of eastern Transcaucasia. 
• It lies on the southern flanks of the Caucasus Mountains.
• It is bounded by Russia, Iran, Armenia, and Georgia.
• Sea: Bounded by the Caspian Sea on the east.
• So, It is NOT a landlocked country.
• Related to India : 
• India is part of INSTC, a multimodal network for moving freight between India, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia, and Europe. 
• Azerbaijan is a dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which India is a member of. 
• India’s ONGC-Videsh is an investor in Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) oil fields and the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline.

Chusul

    

• It is a village in Leh, Ladakh, India.
• It is located in the Durbuk tehsil, in the area known as “Chushul valley”.
• It is close to Rezang La and Pangong Lake at a height of 4,360 meters.
• Chushul is one of the five officially agreed Border Personnel Meeting points between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China for regular consultations and interactions between the two armies to improve relations.
• This place is famous for the Indian Army who fought with the ‘last man, last round’ at Rezang La (Chushul) on November 18, 1962. Without this crucial victory, the territory might have been captured by China.

Neom

    

• Neom is a planned cross-border city in the Tabuk Province of northwestern Saudi Arabia. 
• It is planned to incorporate smart city technologies and also function as a tourist destination.
• The city opens to the Red Sea, and Strait of Tiran, and the borders of Egypt, Israel, and Jordan.

Basan Char

    

• Bhasan Char, the site where Bangladesh has begun sending Rohingya refugees from the overcrowded camps at Cox’s Bazar, is an island formed by sedimentation (char is Bengali for sediment) close to the coast. Bangladesh’s plan is to move some 1 lakh refugees to Bhasan Char, 39 km from Naokhali on the mainland.
• Bhasan Char is less an island and more mudflat and is vulnerable to going underwater from tides and flooding. Much of it is submerged during the monsoon.
• Located near the mouth of the river Meghna where it flows into the Bay of Bengal, Bhasan Char surfaced only in 2006 from the sediment deposited by the river.
• Located close to the much larger Sandwip, Bhasan Char spans 40 sq km.

Tibet

    

• Tibet is a region on the Tibetan Plateau in Asia, spanning about 2.4 million km2– nearly a quarter of China’s territory.
• It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups.
• Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an average elevation of 4,900 meters.
• The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain.

Iran

    

• FORDOW FUEL ENRICHMENT PLANT (FFEP)
• According to satellite images, Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordow amid tensions with the U.S. over its atomic program.
• Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant (FFEP) is an Iranian underground uranium enrichment facility located 20 miles northeast of the Iranian city of Qom, near Fordow village.
• It is the second Iranian uranium enrichment facility, the other one being that of Natanz.
• Iran has not publicly acknowledged any new construction at Fordow, whose discovery by the West in 2009 came in an earlier round of brinkmanship before world powers struck the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
• While the purpose of the building remains unclear, any work at Fordow will likely trigger new concerns in the waning days of the Trump administration before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden.

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor

    

• PM Inaugration of DFC Stretch between Khurja and Bhaupur
• About the eastern corridor:
• Length: 1856 km.
• Consists of two distinct segments: an electrified double-track segment & an electrified single-track segment.
• Starts from Sahnewal near Ludhiana (Punjab) and will pass through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand to terminate at Dankuni in West Bengal.

Dominion Republic

    

• Country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region.
• The Dominican Republic is the second-largest nation in the Antilles by area (after Cuba) at 48,671 square kilometers (18,792 sq mi), and third-largest by population, with approximately 10.8 million people (2020 est.), of whom approximately 3.3 million live in the metropolitan area of Santo Domingo, the capital city.
• The official language of the country is Spanish.

Gibraltar

    

• Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory. Under the Gibraltar constitution of 2006, Gibraltar is self-governing, with some responsibilities, such as defense and foreign relations, remaining with the British government.
• History: In 1704, Anglo-Dutch forces captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession. The territory was ceded to Great Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713
• Significance: It remains strategically important, with half the world's seaborne trade passing through the strait
• Located: southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula
• Gibraltar's territory covers 6.7 square kilometers & shares a 1.2-km land border with Spain. maritime border with Morocco
• Gibraltar's terrain consists of the 426-meter-high Rock of Gibraltar made of Jurassic limestone & the narrow coastal lowland surrounding it.
• Gibraltar is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea & has “No Contact With The Atlantic Ocean”

Ramsar sites in India

    

• India has added 10 more wetlands to the sites protected by the  Ramsar Convention.
• These are:
• Maharashtra: Nandur (state’s first.
• Punjab: Keshopur-Miani, Beas Conservation Reserve, and Nangal.
• Uttar Pradesh: Nawabganj, Parvati Agra, Saman, Samaspur, Sandi, and Sarsai Nawar. The other 27 Ramsar sites are in Rajasthan, Kerala, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Andhra Pradesh.

Armenia

    

• Armenia and Azerbaijan have again agreed to respect a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
• Armenia is located in the geopolitical Transcaucasus (South Caucasus) region.
• Bordered by Georgia and Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey.
• Remember as Armenia - AGIT / GAIT
• Nakhichevan (Naxcivan), an exclave of Azerbaijan, borders Armenia to the southwest. 
• The capital is Yerevan (Erevan).
• The status of Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave of 1,700 square miles in southwestern Azerbaijan populated primarily by Armenians, was from 1988 the source of bitter conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
• It is a Landlocked country.

Ethiopia

    

• Ethiopian PM received Nobel Peace Price in 2019.
• It is a Landlocked country.
• Bordered with Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan.

Sunderban Mangroves

    

• Indian Sunderbans, which is part of the largest mangrove forest in the world, is home to 428 species of birds, a recent publication of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) States
• The publication “Birds of the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve”, released  ZSI.
• The Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest such forests in the world, lies across India and Bangladesh on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
•  It is adjacent to the border of India’s Sundarbans World Heritage site inscribed in 1987
• The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats, and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests, and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes.
• It is home to many rare & globally threatened wildlife species such as the estuarine crocodile, Royal Bengal Tiger, Water monitor lizard, Gangetic dolphin, and olive ridley turtles.

Migingo Islands

    

• Migingo is a small rock island, located in Lake Victoria which is the largest lake in Africa and the largest Tropical Lake in the whole world.
• It is half the size of a football pitch. 
• It is extremely densely populated.
• The island was the center of a low-level territorial dispute between Kenya and Uganda. Recently, Uganda and Kenya agreed to the formation of a commission to look into disputed Migingo Island.
• The main bone of contention is the fishing rights in Lake Victoria which is the largest lake in Africa and the largest tropical lake in the world too.

Mauritius

    

• In Headlines: Mauritius Oil Spill - A Japanese bulk-carrier ship which was carrying fuel oil has split into two parts in south-east Mauritius.
• Important Info:
• Mauritius is situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, in the south of the Indian Ocean.
• Mauritius is a member of the African Union, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, and the Indian Ocean Commission.
• It is also a founding member of the ‘Small Island Developing States’ (SIDS).
• India is Mauritius’s largest trading partner and has been the largest exporter of goods and services since 2007.
• Mauritius is the second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for India after Singapore.

Turkey

    

• Located in West Asia.
• Bordered by: Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Iraq, and Syria. 
• [ Remember as Turkey - GIGIBAS ]
• Sea: Opens out Black sea to the North, Mediterranean Sea to the South, Sea of Marmara in northwest and Aegean Sea in the west.
• Important information: Hagia Sophia, UNESCO World Heritage site which was converted into mosque recently was located in Turkey.

Oman

    

• In Headlines: India and Oman signed a Maritime Transport Agreement in Dec 2019. 
• A Country in West Asia/ Middle East.
• Located more precisely at the south-east of Arabian Peninsula.
• Bordered by the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.
• Duqm port - located in Oman.

Gambia

    

• In Headlines: Gambia was often in the news as it took Myanmar to ICJ accusing of genocide on Rohingya and also the first-ever visit of Indian President to the Gambia. 
• Located in western Africa.
• Situated on the Atlantic coast. [ Not a Landlocked country ]
• Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Senegal to the north, east, and south.

UAE

    

• In Headlines: UAE's Hope Mission, UAE - ISRAEL Peace deal.
• The United Arab Emirates, sometimes simply called the Emirates, is a sovereign state in West Asia.
• It is located at the northeast end of the Arabian Peninsula on the Persian Gulf.
• Bordered by Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and with Oman on the southeast and northeast.
• It is NOT a Landlocked country.

Libya

    

• Context: Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was toppled and killed by rebels in 2011.
• Located in the continent of Africa, Libya is fourth in size among the countries of Africa.
• Most of the country lies in the Sahara desert.
• Bordered by Egypt, Tunisia, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Algeria. 
• Sea: It opens out to the Mediterranean sea on the North. 
• So, Libya is NOT a landlocked country.

Taiwan

    

• In Headlines: US has backed participation of Taiwan at the United Nations. 
• Taiwan is an East Asian nation located to the east of China and to the North of the Philippines. 
• Japan is located to its northeast, the Philippines to its South.
• Straits: Luzon Strait to its south, while Taiwan strait between China and Taiwan.

Diaoyu archipelago

    

• The Diaoyu archipelago (known as the Senkakus in Japanese) is an uninhabited chain of islands in the East China Sea claimed by China, Taiwan, and Japan.
• The Japanese-administered island chain, formed by five islets and three barren rocks, covers an area of 7 square km. It is located about 200km southwest of Japan’s Okinawa island and a similar distance northeast of Taiwan.
• Senkaku islands are a part of the Ryukyu chain of islands.
• Seas: the East China Sea to its north, the South China Sea to its southwest, the Pacific Ocean to the Southeast. [ Remember Exactly ]

Mullaperiyar Dam

    

• Although the dam is located in Kerala, it is operated by Tamil Nadu following an 1886 lease indenture for 999 years (the Periyar Lake Lease Agreement) that was signed between the Maharaja of Travancore and the Secretary of State for India for the Periyar Irrigation works.
• Constructed between 1887 and 1895, the dam redirected the river to flow towards the Bay of Bengal, instead of the Arabian Sea and provide water to the arid rain region of Madurai in Madras Presidency.
• The dam is located on the confluence of the Mullayar and Periyar rivers in Kerala's Idukki district.
• The lease agreement was renewed in the 1970s by both Tamil Nadu and Kerala giving the former rights to the land and water from the dam, besides the authority to develop hydropower projects at the site. In return, Kerala would receive rent from Tamil Nadu.

Sagarmala seaplane services

    

• Launched by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways. 
• It will be launched under a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) framework through prospective airline operators. 
• The project execution and implementation would be through the Sagarmala Development  Company Ltd (SDCL),  which is under the administrative control of the Ministry.

Qatar

    

• In Headlines: Qatar recently left the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
• Qatar is a peninsula in the east of Arabia, bordering the Persian Gulf and Saudi Arabia, in a strategic location near major petroleum deposits.
• It Shares land borders only with Saudi Arabia; maritime borders with Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain.

Burkina Faso

    

• In Headlines: It was often in news because of many reasons. ( terrorist attack, India's TAP Programme )
• Located in West Africa. [ Landlocked Country ]
• Bordered by Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire

Images source: All images are taken from Encyclopedia, Britannica Inc.