Which one of the following National Parks lies completely in the temperate alpine zone?
- (a) Manas National Park
- (b) Namdapha National Park
- (c) Neora Valley National Park
- (d) Valley of Flowers National Park ✓ UPSC's answer
Why the answer is (d)
• Valley of Flowers National Park (Chamoli, Uttarakhand) lies entirely between about 3,200 and 6,600 m in the western Himalaya — a temperate-alpine zone of alpine meadows and snow — option (d).
• Manas (a) is a sub-Himalayan tropical grassland-forest in Assam; Namdapha (b) in Arunachal spans tropical to alpine zones (200–4,500 m); Neora Valley (c) in Darjeeling ranges from tropical to temperate.
• The Valley of Flowers is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with Nanda Devi.
• Hence option (d).
Why the other options are wrong
- (a) Manas National Park
- Manas is a lowland tropical park.
- (b) Namdapha National Park
- Namdapha spans tropical to alpine zones.
- (c) Neora Valley National Park
- Neora Valley ranges from tropical to temperate.
Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2019, held on 2 June 2019. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.