Consider the following statements regarding the Great Indian Desert:

1. The prevailing southwest monsoon winds tend to bypass the Thar to the east.

2. The Soils in this region are predominantly coarse-textured, well-drained, and calcareous.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Solution

Statement 1 is correct. There is persistent high pressure and subsidence due to subtropical climate in the Thar desert because of which the prevailing southwest winds that bring rain to much of the subcontinent bypass Thar desert. Statement 2 is correct. The soils in this region consist of several main groups— desert soils, red desertic soils, sierozems (brownish grey soils), the red and yellow soils of the foothills, the saline soils of the depressions, and the lithosols (shallow weathered soils) and regosols (soft loose soils) found in the hills. All those soils are predominantly coarse-textured, well-drained, and calcareous (calcium-bearing). A thick accumulation of lime oft en occurs at varying depths.