Rann of Kutch

Context: The first G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting recently held in Kutch region of Gujarat.

About Rann of Kutch:

• It is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan.
• It is located mostly in the Kutch district of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan.
• It is divided into the Great Rann and Little Rann.
• The Great Rann of Kutch is the larger portion of the Rann.
• It extends east and west, with the Thar Desert to the north and the low hills of Kutch to the south.
• The Indus River Delta lies to the west in southern Pakistan.
• The Little Rann of Kutch lies southeast of the Great Rann, and extends southwards to the Gulf of Kutch.
• The climate of the ecoregion is
  • Temperatures average 44 °C during the hot summer months, and can reach highs of 50 °C.
  • During the winter the temperature can drop to or below freezing.
• The Rann of Kutch is the only large flooded grasslands zone in the Indomalayan realm.
  • The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms.
• It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia.
• The Little Rann of Kutch is home to the Indian wild ass (khur).
• The area has desert on one side and the sea on the other enables various ecosystems, including mangroves and desert vegetation.
• The history of the Rann of Kutch began with early neolithic settlements.
• It was later inhabited by the Indus Valley civilization as well as the Maurya and Gupta empires of India.

Kutch Desert:

• Kutch Desert covers a vast area to the north of India and northwest by Sindh (Pakistan), west and southwest by the Arabian Sea, and to the northeast by Rajasthan.
• The Rann of Kachchh comprises a unique example of Holocene sedimentation.
• It is connected to the Arabian Sea through Kori Creek in the west and the Gulf of Kachchh in the east, and is very close to sea level.
• The Wild Ass Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the Indian state of Gujarat, is the largest wildlife sanctuary in the country.
  • It is spread in the entire area of the little Rann of Kutch where small grass-covered areas, known as baits, forms the flora and is an important source to support the fauna of the region.

Source: NewsOnAir

Previous Year Questions

Q.1) Consider the following pairs:

Peak                                              Mountains

1. Namcha Barwa                     Garhwal Himalaya
2. Nanda Devi                           Kumaon Himalaya
3. Nokrek                                   Sikkim Himalaya

Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched? (2022)

1. 1 and 2
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3
4. 3 only

Q.2) The term “Levant” often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions? (2022)

1. Region along the eastern Mediterranean shores
2. Region along North African shores stretching from Egypt to Morocco
3. Region along Persian Gulf and Horn of Africa
4. The entire coastal Mediterranean Sea of areas