Q18 · UPSC Prelims 2019 · Set A · Environment and Ecology

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Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine

A Manas National Park
B Namdahpa National Park
C Neora Valley National Park
D Valley of Flowers National Park

Correct answer: (d) Valley of Flowers National Park

Explanation

  1. A

    Manas National Park

    (a) Manas National Park. Manas (Assam) is a terai–bhabar and tropical grassland–forest landscape on the Bhutan foothills, not a park lying wholly in the temperate alpine zone, so it is not the key.

  2. B

    Namdahpa National Park

    (b) Namdapha National Park. Namdapha (Arunachal) spans tropical to alpine belts along a huge elevation gradient; it does not lie completely in the temperate alpine zone, so it is not the key.

  3. C

    Neora Valley National Park

    (c) Neora Valley National Park. Neora Valley (Kalimpong, West Bengal) is Eastern Himalayan forest at mid to high hills, not a wholly temperate-alpine park, so it is not the key.

  4. D

    Valley of Flowers National Park

    (d) Valley of Flowers National Park. In Chamoli, Uttarakhand, this Nanda Devi biosphere unit is a high Himalayan glacial valley of alpine meadows, lying wholly in the temperate alpine zone. That is the official key.

Summary. Official key is (d) Valley of Flowers National Park. It is a high-altitude alpine-flower valley in the Garhwal Himalaya, entirely in the temperate alpine belt. Manas is lowland Assam; Namdapha and Neora Valley mix tropical and montane zones. Honour the stored letter (d).

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