Previous Year Question

The correct matching is—Appalachian–United States of America, Lancashire–England, Ruhr–Germany and Kuzbass–Russia.

The Appalachian Coalfield is a vast and historically important coal-producing region of the eastern United States. It extends across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and adjoining states. Large deposits of bituminous coal occur here, and the region has long been an important base of the U.S. coal industry.

The Lancashire Coalfield is situated in north-western England. Areas such as the South Lancashire and Burnley coalfields played an important role in British industrial development. Their coal resources helped supply energy to nearby textile, engineering and manufacturing centres during the Industrial Revolution.

The Ruhr Coalfield lies in the Ruhr Basin of western Germany. It contains extensive Carboniferous-age hard-coal deposits. The combination of coal resources and nearby iron and steel industries helped the Ruhr develop into one of Europe's major traditional heavy-industrial regions. Commercial hard-coal mining in Germany has now ended, but the Ruhr retains major historical industrial significance.

Kuzbass, or the Kuznetsk Coal Basin, is situated in the Siberian region of Russia, mainly around Kemerovo Oblast–Kuzbass. It is one of Russia's largest and most important coal-producing regions and possesses enormous resources of both thermal and coking coal.