November 2025

In short: India's places in the news and physical geography this month — distilled for SI/Constable Prelims.

Current Affairs — India › Geography · 12 min read · Free to read · English & Telugu

Bilingual study notes for the Andhra Pradesh Police SI & Constable exams (SLPRB AP) by AP Police Hub, a product of Anvil Academy.

November 2025's places-in-the-news round-up — Pithoragarh's border geography, New Mangalore Port's river-mouth setting, Johannesburg's gold-founded topography, Mount Etna and El Salvador's volcanic geography, Georgia's Caucasus location, and a world tour of ten major volcanoes.

November 2025 — At a Glance

November's Geography content, as usual, was scattered across 'places in the news' boxes rather than a dedicated section. India's newsworthy places this month leaned strategic and infrastructural — a Himalayan border district and a west-coast river-mouth port. Globally, an active Sicilian volcano, a Central American 'land of volcanoes', the G20's first African host city, and a Transcaucasian nation all made the maps — alongside a special feature touring ten of the world's most significant volcanoes.

Five biggest headlines

Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand's easternmost district, hosted the 19th Indo-Nepal Joint Military Exercise SURYAKIRAN — it borders both Tibet/China and Nepal, and is a gateway to the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra.
New Mangalore Port, Karnataka's only major port, received ₹1,500 crore of modernisation projects marking its Golden Jubilee (50 years).
Johannesburg hosted the 2025 G20 Summit — the first time on African soil; it is the world's largest city not situated on a major river, lake, or coastline, built entirely on gold reserves.
Mount Etna (Sicily, Italy) — Europe's tallest, most active volcano — sits above a convergent plate margin; El Salvador, the only Central American country without a Caribbean coast, is nicknamed the 'Land of Volcanoes'.
The Recitals' special feature toured ten of the world's major volcanoes — from Hawaii's shield-volcano giant Mauna Loa to Argentina's Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Americas.

1. India — Places in the News

Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand — a strategic Himalayan border district — India hosted the 19th Indo-Nepal Joint Military Exercise SURYAKIRAN in Pithoragarh. It is the easternmost district of Uttarakhand, sharing international boundaries with Tibet/China to the north (separated by the Great Himalayas) and Nepal to the east (separated by the Kali River). It is the traditional gateway to the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra via the Lipulekh Pass (currently restricted/contested), and the town itself is nestled in the Soar Valley.
New Mangalore Port, Karnataka — a river-mouth Golden Jubilee — The Government launched ₹1,500 crore worth of modernisation projects at New Mangalore Port as part of its Golden Jubilee (50 years) celebrations in 2025. Situated on the West Coast of India, at the northern side of the Gurupura river confluence, near Mangaluru city, it is Karnataka's only major port, and a vital outlet for the region's coffee and cashew trade.

2. World — Places in the News

Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy — Europe's tallest and most active volcano was in the news for potential seismic or eruptive activity. Etna lies above a convergent plate margin, where the African Plate is subducting beneath the Eurasian Plate; it is classified as a stratovolcano (composite volcano), built up over time by layers of hardened lava, ash and tephra.
El Salvador — the 'Land of Volcanoes' — Signed an agreement with the USA regarding the deportation of criminals. Located in Central America, it is the only Central American country without a Caribbean Sea coast, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the south. Nicknamed the 'Land of Volcanoes' for the volcanic chain in its Sierra Madre mountains, which also offers geothermal-energy potential; it became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021.
Johannesburg, South Africa — the 'City of Gold' — Hosted the 2025 G20 Summit — the first time the G20 summit was held on African soil. Nicknamed 'The City of Gold' (eGoli), Johannesburg was founded in 1886 with the discovery of the world's largest known gold deposit on the Witwatersrand (White Water's Ridge). Situated on the Highveld plateau at an elevation of over 1,750 metres, it is considered the world's largest city not situated on a major river, lake, or coastline — owing its existence entirely to the gold discovered beneath its land.
Georgia — a Transcaucasian nation — India strengthened textile and sericulture cooperation with Georgia. Situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, in the Transcaucasia region; it borders the Black Sea to the west, Russia to the north/northeast and Azerbaijan to the east. It is a largely mountainous country, dominated by the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range in the north — home to its highest peak, Mount Shkhara — and the Lesser Caucasus Mountains in the south.

3. Physical Geography Special: Major Volcanoes of the World

The Recitals carried a special world-tour feature on ten major volcanoes — a genuinely geographic theme (volcano types, plate boundaries, historic eruptions) useful well beyond this month's news cycle.

Ten major volcanoes of the world
Volcano (location)	Key fact
Mauna Loa (Hawaii, USA)	A shield volcano formed over the Hawaii Hotspot (intra-plate volcanism, not near a plate boundary); the world's largest active volcano by volume, erupting gentle, fluid basaltic lava.
Mount Toba (Sumatra, Indonesia)	A supervolcano/caldera on the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plate boundary; site of a catastrophic super-eruption ~74,000 years ago, creating the massive Lake Toba caldera.
Barren Island (Andaman Islands, India)	A stratovolcano formed by the subduction of the Indian plate beneath the Burma plate — India's only confirmed active volcano in South Asia, a key indicator of continued tectonic activity in the Andaman Sea.
Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy)	Known as the 'Lighthouse of the Mediterranean' for its continuous, mild, highly regular eruptions visible at night; these small, frequent bursts define the Strombolian type of eruption.
Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania)	A dormant stratovolcano linked to intra-plate volcanism along the East African Rift Valley; Africa's highest peak and the world's largest solitary mountain, its three cones face rapidly disappearing glaciers.
Mount St. Helens (Washington, USA)	A stratovolcano of the Cascade Volcanic Arc ('Ring of Fire'), formed by the Juan de Fuca Plate subducting beneath the North American Plate; its 1980 eruption was the deadliest and most economically destructive in US history.
Krakatoa (Krakatau, Indonesia)	Caldera/stratovolcano remnants in the Sunda Arc; its 1883 eruption was one of the most catastrophic in recorded history — a colossal tsunami killed over 36,000 people, and it produced the loudest sound ever recorded.
Mount Fuji (Fujisan, Japan)	A stratovolcano located where the Eurasian, Pacific and Philippine Sea plates meet (Ring of Fire); Japan's highest peak and most famous national symbol — a UNESCO World Cultural (not Natural) Heritage Site.
Cotopaxi (Ecuador)	A stratovolcano of the Andean Volcanic Belt, formed by the Nazca plate subducting beneath the South American plate; one of the world's highest active volcanoes, its thick summit ice cap risks catastrophic lahars (volcanic mudflows).
Aconcagua (Argentina)	A dormant/extinct stratovolcano in the Andes mountain range — the highest peak in the Americas, and the highest peak outside Asia; though inactive, its volcanic origin highlights the scale of the Andean subduction zone.