The Gobi Desert is spread across which of the following countries?

Question

The Gobi Desert is spread across which of the following countries?

1. Mongolia

2. China

3. Russia

4. Kazakhstan

Select the correct answer from the code given below:

1. A. Only 1 and 2 (Correct answer)
2. B. Only 1, 2 and 4
3. C. Only 1, 2 and 3
4. D. Only 1

Correct Answer

Option A — Only 1 and 2

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Only 1 and 2.

Key Points

• The Gobi Desert spreads across southern Mongolia and northern China (largely Inner Mongolia), and no further. So only 1 and 2 are correct, giving option (a).
• Russia and Kazakhstan lie to the north and west of the Gobi and contain no part of it.

Additional Information

• The Gobi is a cold desert — a rain-shadow desert formed because the Himalayas block moisture-bearing monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean.
• It is Asia's largest desert and the world's fifth largest; it is famous as a source of dinosaur fossils and for the historic Silk Route passing along its margins.
• Other cold deserts to revise: Ladakh (India), Taklamakan (China), Turkestan (Central Asia) and Patagonia (Argentina, the only major cold desert of the southern hemisphere).