All Exams Test series for 1 year @ ₹349 only
Question

Which pair of rivers cuts the Tropic of Cancer twice over Chhota Nagpur Plateau ?

This question was previously asked in
BPSC 70th 2024 Prelims General Studies Re-Exam Question Paper (04-Jan-2025)
The correct answer is

Suwarnarekha – Damodar

 This question was deleted by BPSC in the final answer key for Set J. The reason is that no pair among the four can be established cleanly: the courses of these rivers lie within a fraction of a degree of the Tropic, and whether a given river crosses it twice depends on the scale of the map used and on where the source is taken to be. The pairing usually quoted in Jharkhand geography is the Subarnarekha and the Damodar, option 2, and that is the answer given here.

The geography behind it. The Tropic of Cancer lies at about 23° 26′ N and runs across the Chhotanagpur plateau a little north of Ranchi. Four rivers rise on that plateau within a very short distance of the line, and they then flow in quite different directions :

RiverRisesFlowsJoins
DamodarNear Khamarpat hill, Latehar, just north of the TropicEast and south-east across the coalfieldsThe Hooghly; called the Sorrow of Bengal before the DVC dams
SubarnarekhaNear Nagri, close to Ranchi, close to the TropicEast and south-east past JamshedpurThe Bay of Bengal directly
North KoelRanchi plateauNorth-westThe Son, and so the Ganga
South KoelNear Nagri alsoSouth-westThe Sankh, forming the Brahmani

Why a river can cut a latitude twice. A river rising just north of a parallel and then meandering across a nearly flat plateau surface may dip south of it and swing back north before settling into its final direction. Over the gently undulating Chhotanagpur upland, where the watershed between the Ganga and the Bay of Bengal drainage runs close to the Tropic, exactly this happens — which is what the question is pointing at.

A striking feature of the region. The Ranchi plateau is a true radial water divide: the Damodar and Subarnarekha go east, the North Koel north to the Son, and the South Koel south-west to the Brahmani. Four large rivers therefore begin within a few dozen kilometres of one another and reach the sea by entirely different routes.

Hence, the best available answer is Suwarnarekha – Damodar, with the caveat that BPSC deleted the question.

Was this answer helpful?

Similar Questions

  1. Which one of the following rivers is different from the others ?

  2. Amid the distributaries of which river is situated Divi Island ?


Important Questions from Indian Rivers and Water Resources

  1. The major portion of river Mahanadi lies in the state of_________.

  2. Which one of the following lakes in India has a large quantity of a substance found in the Moon?

  3. Which is the longest tributary river in India?

  4. Which of the following rivers the "Chitrakote" water fall is located?

  5. ‘Ong’ and ‘Tel’ are tributaries of the river ______.

Need Expert Advice?
Upcoming Exams
TNPSC Group I
September 27, 2026
TNPSC Group II
October 25, 2026
RPSC
December 06, 2026
UPPSC
December 06, 2026
TNPSC Group IV
December 20, 2026
Test Series
Bihar PSC (BPSC) img
State PSC
BPSC 72th CCE Mock Test Series(Latest Pattern)
398 Tests 1 Tests Free
109 Attempts
4.1(39)
English, Hindi
More Questions from Bihar PSC (BPSC)

Start Your Preparation with Prepp Mobile App

Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Download the app from Google Play & App Store
Prepp Mobile App