World Geography: Continents, Countries, Straits, Deserts, Rivers and Mountains
World Geography: Continents, Countries, Straits, Deserts, Rivers and Mountains
World geography questions in NTPC are short identification questions: which continent a river is in, what a strait connects, where a desert lies, and the "largest, longest, highest" records. A small table of records and a list of important straits cover most of them.
1. Continents and Oceans
| Continent | Key facts |
|---|---|
| Asia | Largest and most populous continent |
| Africa | Second largest; crossed by the Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn; Congo River |
| North America | Mississippi-Missouri; Rocky Mountains |
| South America | Amazon (largest by volume); Andes (longest mountain range) |
| Antarctica | Coldest; driest |
| Europe | Volga is its longest river |
| Australia | Smallest continent; Great Barrier Reef |
Oceans by size: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern, Arctic
2. Records
| Record | Answer |
|---|---|
| Longest river | Nile (Africa) |
| Largest river by water volume | Amazon |
| Deepest river | Congo (Africa) |
| Highest peak | Mount Everest (8,849 m), Nepal-China border |
| Largest hot desert | Sahara (Africa) |
| Largest desert overall | Antarctica |
| Largest freshwater lake | Lake Superior (by area); Lake Baikal (by volume) |
| Deepest lake | Lake Baikal (Russia) |
| Largest country by area | Russia; smallest Vatican City |
3. Important Straits and Canals
| Strait or canal | Connects |
|---|---|
| Palk Strait | India and Sri Lanka |
| Strait of Malacca | Andaman Sea (Indian Ocean) and South China Sea |
| Strait of Gibraltar | Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea |
| Bering Strait | Bering Sea (Pacific) and Chukchi Sea (Arctic); separates Asia and North America |
| Strait of Hormuz | Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman |
| Suez Canal | Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea |
| Panama Canal | Atlantic and Pacific Oceans |
4. Deserts
| Desert | Location |
|---|---|
| Sahara | North Africa |
| Kalahari | Southern Africa (Botswana) |
| Atacama | Chile (driest non-polar desert, a cold coastal desert) |
| Gobi | Mongolia-China |
| Thar | India-Pakistan |
✗ The Amazon is the longest river | ✓ The Nile is the longest; the Amazon carries the most water
✗ The Bering Strait connects the Atlantic and Pacific | ✓ It connects the Pacific (Bering Sea) and the Arctic (Chukchi Sea)
हिंदी नोट: सबसे लंबी नदी नील, जल मात्रा में सबसे बड़ी अमेज़न और सबसे गहरी कांगो (अफ्रीका) है। बेरिंग जलडमरूमध्य एशिया और उत्तरी अमेरिका को अलग करता है और प्रशांत को आर्कटिक से जोड़ता है। पाक जलडमरूमध्य भारत और श्रीलंका के बीच है।
Exam Pointer: Verified NTPC patterns: the continent of the Congo River (September 2025 UG CBT-1) and what the Bering Strait connects (December 2020 CBT-1). Desert and record questions are tagged syllabus-based.
Pariksha Pattern: Every Way NTPC Asks This Topic
Pattern 1: Rivers and continents
[PYQ: NTPC UG CBT-1 8-Sep-2025 Shift-3]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. In which continent does the Congo River flow?
Africa.
Answer: Africa
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which is the deepest river in the world, which is the longest, and which carries the most water?
The Congo is the deepest, the Nile the longest and the Amazon carries the most water.
Answer: Congo; Nile; Amazon
Pattern 2: Straits and canals
[PYQ: NTPC CBT-1 30-Dec-2020 Shift-1]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Which two water bodies does the Bering Strait connect?
The Bering Sea (Pacific Ocean) and the Chukchi Sea (Arctic Ocean).
Answer: Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. Which strait separates India and Sri Lanka, and which canal joins the Mediterranean and the Red Sea?
The Palk Strait; the Suez Canal.
Answer: Palk Strait; Suez Canal
Pattern 3: Deserts
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Which is the largest hot desert in the world?
The Sahara.
Answer: Sahara
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. In which country is the Atacama Desert, and in which two countries is the Gobi Desert?
Chile; Mongolia and China.
Answer: Chile; Mongolia and China
Pattern 4: World records
[Pattern: syllabus-based, PYQ-style]
EXAM LEVEL
Q. Which is the deepest lake in the world?
Lake Baikal in Russia.
Answer: Lake Baikal
EXAMATLAS LEVEL
Q. What is the height of Mount Everest, and which is the longest mountain range in the world?
8,849 m; the Andes.
Answer: 8,849 m; the Andes
60-Second Revision
- Nile longest, Amazon most water, Congo deepest.
- Everest 8,849 m; Andes longest range.
- Bering: Pacific-Arctic; Palk: India-Sri Lanka; Suez: Mediterranean-Red Sea; Panama: Atlantic-Pacific.
- Sahara largest hot desert; Atacama Chile; Gobi Mongolia-China.
Next Step: Geography done. Practise map-based questions in the ExamAtlas RRB NTPC 2026 mock tests; trace each river and strait on a blank map once a week.