4,053
edits
Faneria: Difference between revisions
m
→Interior Mountain Ranges
m (→Geography: not really feeling this, it seems like a repeat of points already in Vand section, but it's smth. will keep going) Tag: 2017 source edit |
|||
| (5 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown) | |||
| Line 121: | Line 121: | ||
==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
Faneria's geography is demarcated visibly by the distinct regions created by the [[ | Faneria's geography is demarcated visibly by the distinct regions created by the [[Deamhain Mountains|Deamhain mountain range]] and its constituent parts. In broad terms, metropolitan Faneria is separated into the lowlands surrounding the [[Vandarch Sea]], or the Northern Vandarch Basin (commonly simply the Basin, with the term rarely being used in relation to the [[Gothica|Gothic]] Vandarch), the mountainous regions themselves, and the northern and eastern coastal regions. While large intermediate regions exist in eastern Faneria, the northern regions and mountainous spine of the country typically see boreal or even subarctic conditions for a large portion of the year, while the Vandarch Basin is considerably more temperate with occasional deep winters due to the warming effect of the inland sea. | ||
Two primary mountain ranges, the greater Deamhainns and the Hadraeons, dominate the highland regions of the country. Of the two, the Deamhainns are the more prominent, bisecting the country east-to-west through several local ranges. In the west, they are composed of the [[Croilaen Mountains|Croilaen]] and [[Lesser Deamhains|Lesser Deamhain]] mountains, with [[Connsmountains|the Connsmountains]] and [[Giath Mountains]] forming the eastern portion of the wider range. Between each are varying low-lying hilly and more passable mountainous regions, and the Croilaens divide the West Coast from the Vandarch Basin , while the Connsmountains create a similar chokepoint in [[Dunlann]] at the midpoint of the Basin, geographically insulating south-central Faneria. | |||
===Geology=== | ===Geology=== | ||
===Climate and Hydrology=== | ===Climate and Hydrology=== | ||
| Line 129: | Line 131: | ||
====Vandarch Basin==== | ====Vandarch Basin==== | ||
{{Main|Vandarch Sea}} | {{Main|Vandarch Sea}} | ||
[[File:LookoutPointDam-October2011-01.JPG|thumb|Aleghny Dam, completed in 1977 in southern [[Connstalmh]], is the innermost of the fourteen major dams along the primary branch of the [[Rhydheas River]].]] | |||
The Vandarch Sea is arguably the important cultural and geographic features of Faneria, and is critical both to the history of its human habitation as well as its ecology and hydropshere. Nearly all rivers in southern Faneria drain into the Vandarch, and the Basin in its entirety spans roughly ninety percent of the Fanerian Vandarch coast, nestled between several major mountain ranges and the freshwater sea. Vandarch flora and fauna were and remain important in the iconography, diet, and rapid growth of the populations within the Basin, including the Vandarch's edible algae and seaweed blooms, prolific seafoods such as the [[Vandarch pike]] and Northern Blue Eel, and national symbols like the Whitegill Eel and George's Grenadier Conch. | The Vandarch Sea is arguably the important cultural and geographic features of Faneria, and is critical both to the history of its human habitation as well as its ecology and hydropshere. Nearly all rivers in southern Faneria drain into the Vandarch, and the Basin in its entirety spans roughly ninety percent of the Fanerian Vandarch coast, nestled between several major mountain ranges and the freshwater sea. Vandarch flora and fauna were and remain important in the iconography, diet, and rapid growth of the populations within the Basin, including the Vandarch's edible algae and seaweed blooms, prolific seafoods such as the [[Vandarch pike]] and Northern Blue Eel, and national symbols like the Whitegill Eel and George's Grenadier Conch. | ||
The Vandarch Basin | The Vandarch Basin was historically heavily wooded (with national parks and conservaton efforts being key to retaining and expanding the remaining woodlands), and is broken up by hills in its western and northerly reaches. To the east, the Basin extends into large arable fields and coastal cliff formations near and across the [[Fiannria|Fiannrian]] border in [[Costaban]]. Soil in the region varies across the board, with more clays in the northern and western reaches and silty soild being more common in the east; as a result, the most ideal wide tracts of arable land are in the central and inland eastern parts of the Basin. The region recieves rainfall primarily from the [[Kilikas Storm Belt]] and [[Dericania]], with the former breaking apart on the mountains separating the Kilikas from the Basin and creating a climate which, while temperate, is occasionally subjected to harsh winter conditions in spite of the warming effect of the inland Sea. The resulting rivers are partially seasonal, and flood naturally in the western and central Vandarch in particular. While much of the coast and lowlands of the region consisted of wetlands in antiquity, extensive systems of damming, embankments, canals, and sleeper dikes built up over the history of the region have resulted in one of the most dense networks of waterway controls anywhere in the world. In some cases, this has included dredging and the expansion of natural waterways to allow riverine trade hundreds of miles inland. Unsurprisingly, freshwater and the control of waterways plays a significant role in the culture of Faneria to the point of influencing modern religious symbolism and affecting artistic, civic, and even legal norms in the country. | ||
The Vandarch Basin is the undisputed geopolitical core of the country, with industry, trade, population, and political power orbiting around the region. The eastern Basin acts as a rye and barley breadbasket along with the so-called 'fish basket' of the Vandarch Sea and its tributaries, while the coastline and regions around the primary rivers leading to the Vandarch support the largest cities in the country. This population center has at every point in Faneria's history since the arrival of human inhabitants been the main center of political power in northern [[Ultmar]], leading to a perception among Fanerians of the region as the center of Fhainnin civilization. | The Vandarch Basin is the undisputed geopolitical core of the country, with industry, trade, population, and political power orbiting around the region. The eastern Basin acts as a rye and barley breadbasket along with the so-called 'fish basket' of the Vandarch Sea and its tributaries, while the coastline and regions around the primary rivers leading to the Vandarch support the largest cities in the country. This population center has at every point in Faneria's history since the arrival of human inhabitants been the main center of political power in northern [[Ultmar]], leading to a perception among Fanerians of the region as the center of Fhainnin civilization. | ||
====Interior Mountain Ranges==== | ====Interior Mountain Ranges==== | ||
====Kilikas Coast==== | ====Kilikas Coast==== | ||
{{Main|Kilikas Sea}} | {{Main|Kilikas Sea}} | ||
The regions of metropolitan Faneria bordering the Kilikas coast routinely experience harsh winters and the brunt of landfalls by storms from the Kilikas Storm Belt. As a result, the region is both largely ecologically intact (compared to the south) and underdeveloped. The westernmost province of the region, [[Cost Tairne]], borders the far more populous and wealthy West coast, and is known for much of its coast being populated with rocky beaches and frequent cliffscapes. The remainder of the region is primarily covered in pine forests and smaller cities hugging the coast and rivers. The north coast, similarly to the Transisthmus, posessed a long history of resistance to conquest and subsequent [[Fhasenization]], cemented by its establishment as a Pale of Tolerance for Protestant churches in the nineteenth century. | |||
====Nordskan Coast==== | ====Nordskan Coast==== | ||
{{Main|Sea of Nordska}} | {{Main|Sea of Nordska}} | ||
==== West Coast ==== | |||
Sometimes reffered to as the Cisisthmus, the western coast of Faneria rests on the [[Kuril Bay|Bay of Kuril]], which is partially protected from the conditions of the Kilikas Sea by [[Suderavia]]. The coast is known for its large number of small islands and islets, complex bays and inlets, and frequently sandbar- and rock-riddled waterways which make litttoral travel dangerous. The inland portions of the region are heavily hilled and wooded with a mix of pines and other mostly coniferous trees, and have an extensive above-fround freshwater system with groundwater reservoirs typically contaminated by salt. Soil in the region consists primarily of loamy clay, with larger deposits of loam to the southern end and near the [[Croilaen Mountains|Croilaen Gap]]. Historically colonized by [[Coscivian civilisation|Coscivian]] settlers, the region has a mix of local, imported, and Kiravic culture, architecture, and wildlife, and prior to the Second Century B.C. included the largest cities in modern Faneria. The West Coast was one of the first colonial posessions of the [[Kingdom of the Fhainn]] and as a result has been the site of a large number of civil engineering works and dams to handle Kilikas stormfalls, as well as the world's largest artificially navigable bay, [[Rihsport|Rihsbay]], which was deepened to allow for commercial shipping beginning in 1634 and concluding in 1878. | |||
====Transisthmus==== | ====Transisthmus==== | ||
The Transisthmus is a region of Faneria separated overland from the bulk of the country by the Ereglasian Isthmus, which is currently split by the [[League of Nations]]-governed [[Vandarch Canal Zone]] since [[Treaty of Loughlin|1942]]. The region was primarily divided historically between the countries of Nieve and Culriocha, which were annexed by Faneria after the [[West Vandarch War]] in the 18th Century following a succession crisis engineered to copy the earlier success of the [[Saelish Partition]]. While the Namhevish gothic people were politically dominant in the region, settlement and the larger existing Culriochan gael population lead to the region being hotbed of repeated secession movements and rebellions until the beginning of the [[Transisthmus Peace Process]]. | The Transisthmus is a region of Faneria separated overland from the bulk of the country by the Ereglasian Isthmus, which is currently split by the [[League of Nations]]-governed [[Vandarch Canal Zone]] since [[Treaty of Loughlin|1942]]. The region was primarily divided historically between the countries of Nieve and Culriocha, which were annexed by Faneria after the [[West Vandarch War]] in the 18th Century following a succession crisis engineered to copy the earlier success of the [[Saelish Partition]]. While the Namhevish gothic people were politically dominant in the region, settlement and the larger existing Culriochan gael population lead to the region being hotbed of repeated secession movements and rebellions until the beginning of the [[Transisthmus Peace Process]]. | ||
| Line 191: | Line 202: | ||
{{Main|Fhasen}} | {{Main|Fhasen}} | ||
Faneria's de facto and legal language is [[Fhasen]], an administrative language developed in the 17th Century to circumvent regional dialects and create a national 'high culture' to cement the largely military gains made from the 15th Century onwards. Fhasen is the only mandatory language taught in public schools and is formally [[International Council on Fhasen Conventions|heavily regulated and standardized]]. Due to its nature as an artificial language, Fhasen is not mutually intelligible with other Gaelic languages such as Faeskt or Caeric. Informally, [[Aenglish]], Baland Coscivian, [[Kiravic Coscivian]] and Culoch Gaelic are the largest non-Fhasen languages in use, as well as Faeskt and Namhene being spoken in some localities. Many regional dialects of pre-Fhasen Gaelic exist in modernity as slang or regional accents, and are in rare cases spoken as dialects in small enclaves. | Faneria's de facto and legal language is [[Fhasen]], an administrative language developed in the 17th Century to circumvent regional dialects and create a national 'high culture' to cement the largely military gains made from the 15th Century onwards. This proccess of language centralization, known as [[Fhasenization]], played a key role in forming the modern Fanerian identity. Fhasen is the only mandatory language taught in public schools and is formally [[International Council on Fhasen Conventions|heavily regulated and standardized]]. Due to its nature as an artificial language, Fhasen is not mutually intelligible with other Gaelic languages such as Faeskt or Caeric. Informally, [[Aenglish]], Baland Coscivian, [[Kiravic Coscivian]] and Culoch Gaelic are the largest non-Fhasen languages in use, as well as Faeskt and Namhene being spoken in some localities. Many regional dialects of pre-Fhasen Gaelic exist in modernity as slang or regional accents, and are in rare cases spoken as dialects in small enclaves. | ||
While the use of Fhasen is a binding cultural element within the country, most people speak a second language, typically Aenglish. The dialect of Aenglish developed in Faneria is relatively closely related to [[Julian Aenglish]] and is commonly a conversational or trade tongue, whereas Fhasen is the language of contracts, technical instructions, and law. In 2030, census records indicated a 73% rate of multilingualism among adults 20 or over, with approximately 24% of the population self-describing as speaking three languages or more on a conversational level, typically including both Fhasen and Aenglish. | While the use of Fhasen is a binding cultural element within the country, most people speak a second language, typically Aenglish. The dialect of Aenglish developed in Faneria is relatively closely related to [[Julian Aenglish]] and is commonly a conversational or trade tongue, whereas Fhasen is the language of contracts, technical instructions, and law. In 2030, census records indicated a 73% rate of multilingualism among adults 20 or over, with approximately 24% of the population self-describing as speaking three languages or more on a conversational level, typically including both Fhasen and Aenglish. | ||