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'''The Valley''' is a term referring to the central region of [[Urcea]] and its most populous. It includes the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]], the provinces of [[Westglen]], [[Eastglen]], [[Northgate]], [[Goldvale]], [[Killean]], [[the Cape (Urcean province)|the Cape]], and southern [[Harren]]. | '''The Valley''' is a term referring to the central region of [[Urcea]] and its most populous. It includes the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]], the provinces of [[Westglen]], [[Eastglen]], [[Northgate]], [[Goldvale]], [[Killean]], [[the Cape (Urcean province)|the Cape]], and southern [[Harren]]. | ||
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==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
The Valley, as its name would suggest, is a mostly flat expanse of land sitting between the [[Pralia Mountains]] to the north, the [[Ionian Plateau]] to the east, and the [[Sea of Canete]] and [[Odoneru Ocean]] to the west. The flat expanse is largely disrupted by the [[Hortus Mountains]] to the south, but the [[Urcean frontier]] region, with its separate climate and distinct culture and history, make up the southern end of the "bowl" formed by these mountains. The region has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters, making it ideal for many types of agriculture and pleasant for human settlement. Accordingly, most of the natural ecology of the Valley has been replaced with {{wp|Urban sprawl|urban and suburban sprawl}} as the region is among the most densely populated in the world. The Valley naturally has relatively sparse trees, with many types imported to the region from abroad with the advent of global trade. | The Valley, as its name would suggest, is a mostly flat expanse of land sitting between the [[Pralia Mountains]] to the north, the [[Ionian Plateau]] to the east, and the [[Sea of Canete]] and [[Odoneru Ocean]] to the west. The flat expanse is largely disrupted by the [[Hortus Mountains]] to the south, but the [[Urcean frontier]] region, with its separate climate and distinct culture and history, make up the southern end of the "bowl" formed by these mountains. The region has a climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters, making it ideal for many types of agriculture and pleasant for human settlement. Accordingly, most of the natural ecology of the Valley has been replaced with {{wp|Urban sprawl|urban and suburban sprawl}} as the region is among the most densely populated in the world. The Valley naturally has relatively sparse trees, with many types imported to the region from abroad with the advent of global trade. | ||
The [[Urce River]] and its tributiaries are the dominant geographical feature of the north-central part of the Valley, with the Urce River watershed more or less corresponding to the geographical extent of the valley with the exception of tributaries flowing through the Ionian Plateau. The main course of the river flows northeast from the Ionian mountains to the southwest, where it terminates in the Sea of Canete. The best known tributary of the Urce, the Esquiline River, bisects the city of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] and flows from the Ionian Mountains in [[Harren]] and flow due west until it meets the Urce in Urceopolis. A large part of the population of the Valley live in cities along the Urce River, and a majority live in either those cities or suburban networks which extend from the cities. | |||
The Valley has a western coastline that sits on the Sea of Canete and Odoneru Ocean. Its coastline is characterized as generally uneven but good for human commerce, with a large number of capes, peninsulas, inlets, and large bays cutting the coastline up and down the country's western seaboard. Besides the Urce River, the western coast of the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis]] is one of the major population centers of Urcea. In terms of culture and economy, the western seaboard and its cities are somewhat more like the [[The Islands (Urcea)|the Islands]] than the rest of the Valley. | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
For most of human history, the Valley has been one of the most habitable areas in southern [[Levantia]], and has been the center of major agricultural and urban development for more than a thousand years. Prior to the [[Latin Heroic Age]], the Valley was predominantly settled by [[Gaelic people]], who established small cities and extensive agricultural clearances in addition to retaining hunter-gatherer lifestyles. The arrival of the [[Latinic people]] heralded the dawn of more extensive urbanization, especially along the [[Urce River]] itself. For the first several hundred years of Latin settlement of Levantia, Latins were mostly contained to the Valley, and for a time the term [[Levantia]] and the Valley were considered interchangeable. The Latin-urbanized Valley eventually gave rise to the first very large polity in Levantine history, [[Great Levantia]]. Emerging from the [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolitan]] city state, Great Levantia became a continent-spanning empire thousands of miles in breadth. At its height, the Valley - along with parts of [[Dericania]] - were considered to be the core parts of the empire. During the peak of Great Levantia, the Valley was divided into five provinces and the region directly adjacent to Urceopolis, known simply as "Urcea". | |||
After about 1 AD, the demographic, political, and economic "center" of Great Levantia gradually began to shift eastward with the [[Gallian Wars|conquest of Gaul]]. During this middle Antiquity period, [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] was the capital city and center of power for the Great Levantine state, but had not yet established clear demographic supremacy over the earlier-established coastal Latin cities along the [[Creagmer]]. Accordingly, the ancient Valley saw relatively uniform economic growth both along the coast and up the [[Urce River]]. Between the major cities were an untold number of small-hold farmers, considered the traditional source of Great Levantia's military manpower. | |||
The region saw significant economic change from the transition of the state from republic to potentate, especially as slaves from [[Dericania|the east]] and eventually Gaul were imported into the region. The massive importation of Gallian slaves had an overall negative impact on the economy of the core region, as most small-holders were replaced by sprawling plantations primarily worked by slaves. The Valley's cities grew significantly during this period, and especially Urceopolis. The economy and society of the modern Valley area remained in this condition through late antiquity until the eventual [[Slavery_in_Great_Levantia#Transition_to_serfdom|transition to serfdom]] began. | |||
The modern Valley was the part of [[Levantia]] most grievously affected by the decline and fall of Great Levantia in terms of demographics and economic condition. | |||
==Economy== | |||
The economy of the Valley is largely characterized by major urban centers, with both the service and real estate industries serving as the two largest in this region. | |||
Outside of the main riverine corridors and coastal regions of the Valley, some major agricultural areas exist, with agriculture serving as a top ten industry in the Valley. The warm but still-temperate climate of the region makes large parts of it ideal for farming, and historically the Valley was one of the most productive food-growing regions in the world. Large scale irrigation efforts supplemented the agriculturally-viable weather beginning in the medieval period to make most of the Valley fairly verdant and fertile. Its agricultural output has largely remained steady since the dawn of the 20th century, as rapid increases in farm productivity from chemical and industrial improvements have offset the equally rapid reduction of farmland in favor of cities and suburbs. | |||
==Culture== | ==Culture== | ||
The Valley is considered by many to be the cultural heart of [[Urcea]]. The region is the historic heartland of the [[Urcean people]], and many of Urcea's primary social traditions originate in the Valley. Within the [[Culture of Urcea|culture of Urcea]], people's cultural mores are often described as "intra-" or "extra-Valley", with the former referring to people who adhere to the "base culture" of Urcea as represented in Valley life and those who belong to a more geographically peripheral cultural group, such as [[Gassavelian people|Gassavelian]] or [[Caenish people]]. Accordingly, much of the music and cuisine usually associated with Urcea can predominantly trace their origins to the Valley. | |||
Despite being viewed as culturally monolithic by those Urceans who live outside the Valley, the culture of the Valley is generally diverse based on geography. According to both scholars and cultural observers, the traditional "Valley culture" primarily only exists in a uniform basis in the [[Urce River]] corridor from south of [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] within the [[Archduchy of Urceopolis|Archduchy]] to the northeastern corner of the province of [[Westglen]], and in suburbs radiating out from those urban centers. | |||
Most prominently, people living on the coast of the Valley have their own unique culture which has a historical foundation in maritime commerce and fishing, with significant influences from [[Sarpedon]] and the [[Ancient Istroyan civilization]] incorporated throughout the millennia. These people, generally referred to as "[[the Cape (Urcean province)|Capers]] and Coasters", are more similar to people living in the [[The Islands (Urcea)|Urcean Island region]] than those living in and around the city of Urceopolis. | |||
[[Category:Geography of Urcea]] | [[Category:Geography of Urcea]] | ||
[[Category:Geography]] | [[Category:Cultural Geography]] | ||
[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||