🎬 Video explanationविश्वको भूगोल: महादेश, महासागर, भूकम्प र हावापानी
⏱ 4 min read
📘 Kharidar syllabus: Paper I, Section A, Unit 1.2 (Geography of the World) · Open the full Kharidar course
Unit 1.2 of the Kharidar syllabus asks about the geography of the whole world: continents, oceans, poles, latitude and longitude, time, distance, mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, rivers, glaciers, lakes and climate. These questions are short and factual, so a clear table of “firsts and largests” is the fastest way to score.
1. Continents and oceans
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Number of continents | 7: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia (Oceania) |
| Largest continent | Asia |
| Smallest continent | Australia |
| Coldest continent | Antarctica (also the largest desert, a cold desert) |
| Number of oceans | 5: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), Arctic |
| Largest and deepest ocean | Pacific Ocean |
| Deepest point | Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench (Pacific), about 11 km deep |
| Smallest ocean | Arctic Ocean |
2. Latitude, longitude and time
- Latitude lines run east–west and measure distance north or south of the Equator (0°). The poles are at 90°N and 90°S.
- Important latitudes: Tropic of Cancer 23½°N, Tropic of Capricorn 23½°S, Arctic Circle 66½°N, Antarctic Circle 66½°S.
- Longitude lines run north–south and measure distance east or west of the Prime Meridian (0°) at Greenwich, London.
- The Earth turns 360° in 24 hours, so 15° of longitude = 1 hour and 1° = 4 minutes.
- Places to the east are ahead in time; places to the west are behind.
- The International Date Line roughly follows 180° longitude; crossing it changes the date by one day.
- Nepal Standard Time is GMT + 5:45.
3. Mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Highest peak in the world | Mount Everest (Sagarmatha), 8,848.86 m |
| Highest mountain range | The Himalaya |
| Longest mountain range on land | The Andes (South America) |
| Highest peak in Africa | Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), a dormant volcano |
| Where an earthquake starts underground | Focus or hypocentre |
| Point on the surface directly above it | Epicentre |
| Instrument that records earthquakes | Seismograph |
| Scale for magnitude | Richter scale (now often moment magnitude) |
| Belt with most volcanoes and earthquakes | The “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean |
Volcanoes are active (erupting now or recently), dormant (sleeping, may erupt again) or extinct (not expected to erupt). Nepal has no active volcano, but it lies on the boundary where the Indian plate pushes under the Eurasian plate, which is why Nepal has big earthquakes such as the one of 2072 Baisakh 12 (25 April 2015).
4. Rivers, lakes and glaciers
| Fact | Answer |
|---|---|
| Longest river | The Nile (Africa) |
| Largest river by water flow | The Amazon (South America) |
| Largest lake (salt water) | Caspian Sea |
| Deepest lake | Lake Baikal (Russia) |
| Largest freshwater lake by area | Lake Superior (North America) |
| Highest waterfall | Angel Falls (Venezuela) |
| Glacier | A slow-moving mass of ice; most of the world’s fresh water is stored as ice |
5. Climate
- Weather is the condition of the air for a short time; climate is the average weather of a place over many years (usually 30 years or more).
- Main climate zones: tropical (hot, near the Equator), temperate (mild, between the tropics and polar circles) and polar (very cold).
- Climate depends on latitude, altitude, distance from the sea, winds and ocean currents.
- Height lowers temperature by about 6.5°C for every 1,000 m, which is why Nepal has tropical Terai and polar-like high Himalaya within 200 km.
6. Continents at a glance
| Continent | Note |
|---|---|
| Asia | Largest and most populous |
| Africa | Second largest; longest river, the Nile |
| North America | Includes the USA, Canada and Mexico |
| South America | Amazon, the largest river by volume |
| Antarctica | Coldest; covered by ice |
| Europe | Small but densely populated |
| Australia (Oceania) | Smallest continent |
7. Oceans
- Pacific: largest and deepest; Mariana Trench.
- Atlantic: second largest.
- Indian: third largest.
- Southern and Arctic: smallest.
8. How this topic is asked in the exam
Objective questions ask the largest, smallest and most populous continents and oceans. Learn them with a world map.
📌 Key points to remember
- 7 continents, 5 oceans; Asia largest continent, Pacific largest and deepest ocean.
- Equator 0°, tropics 23½°, polar circles 66½°; Prime Meridian 0° at Greenwich.
- 15° longitude = 1 hour; 1° = 4 minutes; Nepal is GMT + 5:45.
- Epicentre is on the surface above the focus; seismograph records earthquakes.
- Nile longest river, Amazon largest by flow, Caspian largest lake, Baikal deepest lake.
- Ring of Fire surrounds the Pacific Ocean.
📝 Quiz
Test yourself: World Geography
50 questions check what you read about Continents and oceans, Mountains, earthquakes and volcanoes and Climate. Each attempt picks 25 at random.
Loading quiz...