Category Geography

Which city is the capital of Russia?

Moscow, which is Russia’s largest city in terms of its population, is its capital city. Moscow is the centre of the Russian government, and also houses the Kremlin, which is the working place of the Russian president.

Moscow was the centre of the Orthodox Church after the collapse of the Byzantine Empire. This played an important role in Russia’s history as the very first trading settlement came into being here. This trading centre dates back to the 10th century Slavic communities. The name Moscow was first recorded in the year 1147, when Prince Yury Dolgoruky, who ruled the region, sent an invitation to his allies.

In the 13th century, Moscow was attacked by the Mongols. It became a centre of power when Ivan III successfully staved off the Mongol invasions. He also managed to conquer the neighbouring countryside. The famous brick walls of the Kremlin were added as part of the renovation works initiated by Ivan to commemorate these events.

Tsar Peter the Great moved the capital of the country to St. Petersburg in 1712, but after the revolution of 1917, Moscow became the official capital again.

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What is Russia’s geography like?

Russia is spread across the continents of Europe and Asia. The country is surrounded by three oceans as well-the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Arctic oceans. Russia has many different landscapes across its geographical area, which includes deserts, mountains, frozen coastline, and marshy lands. Most of its land is covered in treeless plains called steppes. Siberia, which occupies three quarters of the country’s land area, contains pine forests in large areas. These forests are called taigas.

Russia also boasts about her natural resources, which include about 100,000 rivers. It also has a number of lakes such as Lake Baikal, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, which are some of the largest lakes in Europe. What is interesting is that Lake Baikal in Siberia contains more water in it than any other lake on Earth! This lake is 1642 metres deep and is the deepest and clearest of all lakes in the world. It is home to over 1700 species of plants and animals, two thirds of which cannot be found anywhere else in the world.

The country is also home to major rivers like the Volga, the Dnieper and Dvina, the Lena, the Ob, and Yenisey, and the Amur.

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Where can we find a boomslang?

‘Boomslang’ literally means ‘tree snake’, in Afrikaans and Dutch. As the name suggests, the boomslang snakes prefer to live in areas with trees wooded grasslands, arid savannas, lowland forests, etc. They are found in sub-Saharan Africa, mainly in Botswana, Swaziland, Namibia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. They live on the trees and are active during the day. Extremely agile, they are very adept at climbing trees and gliding through the branches while hunting. The boomslang is a very dangerous, venomous snake. When the weather gets too cold, they take long, deep sleeps inside enclosed bird-nests.

The boomslangs can be of different colours, though most have a bright green colour.

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WHICH VILLAGE IS KNOWN AS GREEN VILLAGE IN NAGALAND?

Khonoma in Nagaland is India’s first “green village”. The terrain of the village is hilly, ranging from gentle slopes to steep and rugged hillsides. The hills are covered with lush forestland, rich in various species of flora and fauna. The state bird, Blyth’s tragopan, a pheasant now nationally endangered, is found here. Khonoma is a medium size village located in Sechü Zubza sub-division of Kohima district, Nagaland with total 424 families residing. The Khonoma village has population of 1943 of which 919 are males while 1024 are females as per Population Census 2011. The village is divided into three Thinuos, namely Merhüma (M-Khel), Semoma (S-Khel) and Thevoma (T-Khel).

Khonoma village has higher literacy rate compared to Nagaland. In 2011, literacy rate of Khonoma village was 83.41 % compared to 79.55 % of Nagaland. In Khonoma Male literacy stands at 93.72 % while female literacy rate was 74.19 %. As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Khonoma village is administrated by Sarpanch (Head of Village) who is elected representative of village.

In 1998 hunting was banned in Khonoma’s forests after the killing of around 300 endangered Blyth’s tragopan (Tragopan blythii) in a week as part of a hunting competition. Villagers were sensitized and educated, leading to the creation of the 20 sq km Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS), the first-ever community-led conservation project in India. Hunters were recruited to serve as forest wardens with a good salary, an incentive to turn from hunting to conservation. Today, the sanctuary provides a safe haven for Blyth’s tragopan, the state bird of Nagaland, and other vulnerable species such as the leopard, clouded leopard and Asiatic black bear. Conservation of Khonoma’s natural resources combined with sustainable agricultural practices led to it earning its green title in 2005.

Credit : Wikipedia 

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WHICH FOSSIL CONNECTS ALL THE SOUTHERN CONTINENTS?

Fossil remains of the fern Glossopteris are found in Australia, Antarctica, India, Africa and South America.

Wegener found fossil evidence that the continents were once joined. The same type of plant and animal fossils are found on continents that are now widely separated. These organisms would not have been able to travel across the oceans. So how did the fossils get so far apart?

Fossils of the seed fern Glossopteris are found across all of the southern continents. These seeds are too heavy to be carried across the ocean by wind. Mesosaurus fossils are found in South America and South Africa. Mesosaurus could swim, but only in fresh water. Cynognathus and Lystrosaurus were reptiles that lived on land. Both of these animals were unable to swim at all. Their fossils have been found across South America, Africa, India, and Antarctica.

Wegener thought that all of these organisms must have lived side by side. The lands later moved apart so that the fossils are separated.

Credit: ck12

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WHAT ISLAND CHANGES HANDS BETWEEN FRANCE AND SPAIN EVERY SIX MONTHS?

Pheasant Island changes countries every six months! An uninhabited river island in the Bidasoa River between France and Spain, Pheasant Island’s administration alternates between both countries every six months. The island is also the smallest and oldest-surviving condominium. A condominium is a territory over which multiple nations exercise equal dominion and sovereignty, without dividing it into different national zones.

Pheasant Island is around 660 feet long and 130 feet wide. Despite its name, it doesn’t house any pheasants or human civilization for that matter. The only permanent resident of Pheasant Island is a historic monument to commemorate the Treaty of the Pyrenees. France and Spain signed a peace treaty on this island called the Treaty of the Pyrenees. A series of 24 conferences were held between Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France and Luis de Haro, a Grandee of Spain, in 1659 after the end of the Thirty Years’ War. The climax of the conferences led to the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in Pheasant Island. Under the terms of the treaty, Pheasant Island is a possession of Spain from February 1 to July 31 each year. From August 1 till January 31, it becomes part of the nation of France. Thus, Pheasant Island has a unique bi-national dependency.

Spain and France have joint sovereignty of Pheasant Island. This arrangement is called a condominium. Faisans Island or Pheasant Island is one of the oldest condominiums in existence. A condominium is a territory over which multiple countries exercise equal sovereignty and dominion over without dividing it into different national zones. This is the world’s only destination where sovereignty is not shared simultaneously, but alternately. For six months in a year, Pheasant Island is Spanish and for the next six, it’s French. It took the Spanish and French three long months of negotiation on the neutral territory of Pheasant Island, to come to this arrangement.  The peace agreement, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed. And the borders were clearly demarcated and the territory was exchanged. To seal the deal, a royal wedding took place on the island, between the French King Louis XIV and the daughter of the Spanish King Philip IV.

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