Which one of the following is the best example of repeated falls in sea level, giving rise to present-day extensive marshland?
Show answer
Answer: D. The Rann of Kutch was once a shallow arm of the Arabian Sea. Repeated falls in sea level and uplift of land left behind a vast salt marsh that floods in the monsoon and dries out later. That makes it the best example among the options.
Watch for: Mangroves and swamps sound like marshland, but the question asks about a landscape formed by repeated falls in sea level.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Wrong because Bhitarkanika is a mangrove forest in a river delta, shaped by rivers and tides, not by repeated sea-level falls.
- B. Wrong because Marakkanam salt pans are man-made salt-making areas on the Tamil Nadu coast.
- C. Wrong because Naupada swamp is a small coastal swamp in Andhra Pradesh, not an extensive marshland of this kind.
Source to check: NCERT Class 11 India: Physical Environment, Ch 2 Structure and Physiography (Rann of Kutch); Geological Survey of India publications on the Rann of Kutch
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.