“Climate is extreme, rainfall is scanty and the people used to be nomadic herders.”
The above statement best describes which of the following regions?
[UPSC Civil Services Exam – 2013 Prelims]
(a) African Savannah
(b) Central Asian Steppe
(c) North American Prairie
(d) Siberian Tundra
Answer: (b)
Explanation:
- Nomadic herding is a subsistence activity where herders rely on animals for food, clothing, shelter, tools, and transport.
- Herders move from place to place with their livestock based on the availability and quality of pastures and water, resulting in an irregular pattern of movement.
- The correct answer is 2, indicating that the location described in the question is associated with past nomadic herding.
- The Siberian Tundra cannot be the correct answer, as hunting and trapping reindeer are the primary economic activities there, not nomadic herding.
Note: The statement in the question mentions extreme climate, scanty rainfall, and a past population of nomadic herders. The question is testing knowledge of history through geography, specifically about nomadic empires like the Mongols.
Therefore, option (b) is the correct answer.
