Urcea: Difference between revisions

File:Adirondacks in May 2008.jpg|The Ionian Mountains, which set the boundary of the [[Ionian Highlands]], separate much of Urcea from the rest of [[Levantia]].

The first major ecological area of Urcea is [[The Valley (Urcea)|the Valley]], the central part of the country surrounded by the [[Ionian Highlands]] and the southern mountains. Historically, Urcea's position near the Tropic of Cancer and wide open plains allowed for megafauna and megaflora to thrive before the growth of civilization, though their decline was acutely felt and early historians noted the consistently shifting and unstable ecological conditions as many animals without natural predators grew without consequence while species without a food supply died out. According to many environmental historians, the ecosystem of the Valley finally settled around the end of the first millennium, though by that period most of the Valley was covered in farmland and most of the animals in it domesticated. Today, this area is heavily populated, but environmental preserves dot the plain allowing some of the natural, temperate flora and fauna to restore themselves. There is a significant white-tailed deer problem in the Valley as natural predators are largely absent from the region.  

The third major ecological area of the country is the [[Ionian Highlands]] that runs the length of the country's eastern border, which has a similar kind of flora and fauna as [[The Valley (Urcea)|the Valley]].

Much of Urcea enjoys a temperate and mild climate A great majority of Urcea has a very temperate and mild climate, with temperatures ranging from 74 °F to 95 °F in the summer and 35 °F to 50 °F in the winter. The exceptions to this are in the [[Gassavelia|Gassavelian]] and [[Ionian Highlands|Ionian]] areas, with the former experiencing tropical temperatures exceeding 100 °F in the summer, and the latter experiencing fairly cold Alpine climates due primarily to its elevation. Very little of the country sees large amounts of snowfall during the winter besides the Ionian Highlands, which can experience up to sixty inches of snow seasonally.

The culture of Urcea is primarily of [[Occidental]] origin and formed from its predominantly Christian religious life, its interaction with the cultures of [[Levantia]] including those it incorporated, and the impact of the [[Holy Levantine Empire]]. Based on the joint legacies and cultural inheritances of the [[Gaelic people|Gaels]] and [[Great Levantia]] and its [[Adonerum|Adonerii]] ancestors, a unique culture blending the cultural traditions of both legacies emerged by the 10th century. Although Urcean culture is a distinct entity, the individual cultures of the various regions of the country - such as [[Canaery]] and the Ionian Highlands are diverse and have varying degrees of overlap and distinctiveness. Many Urcean cultural elements, especially from popular culture, have spread across the globe through modern mass media. Urceans' attitudes and worldview are predominantly shaped by Urcean interpretation of [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] teaching. The world is viewed essentially as hierarchical and the family, rather than the individual, as the basic unit of society. Much of society and government is viewed through the analogous lens of family, and consequently Urceans tend to have a relatively corporatist worldview which is reflected by the influence and role of [[Guilds (Urcea)|guilds]] in society. Urceans have extremely traditional tendencies and tend to view the social progressiveness of other cultures with suspicion. The political ideology of Urcea reflects these views and is intertwined with that of [[Organicism]], an "ideological marriage" which is reflected by Urcea's highly federal, highly hierarchical, highly democratic but illiberal state and [[Constitution of Urcea|constitution]].

In Urcea, kinship is typically oriented towards two units, the first being the {{wp|nuclear family}} and the second being ones [[Estates of Urcea|Estate]]. The nuclear family unit, consisting of parents and any number of children, is the grouping typically considered within Urcea to be "family" or "close family", though extended family relations between multiple "nuclear family" units, even those not directly related, is common. Extended families have increasingly begun to live closer together as part of emergent {{wp|Housing_in_Urcea#Exurban|exurban housing attitudes}}. Besides typical relations with extended family, Urceans also feel close association to closely related members of their estate, which is a type of society-wide kinship grouping dating back to [[Great Levantia]]. Most Urceans - excepting most [[Caenish people]] and various ethnic minorities - are members of the estate system. The heads of Estates - the senior most member of the senior most house within the Estate - is called the Custóir, who has the responsibility of maintaining genealogical rolls for the Estate of which he or she is the head of. Estates have additional, intricate internal organizing mechanisms which determine the formal heads of household for each family. The Estates annually compete in [[Damselalia]], a source of national and Estate pride. In addition to the estate system, the [[Ionian Highlands]] have their own clan system which is similar in nature and largely integrated within the estate system as special family groupings.

Many parts of Urcea have also experienced strong periods of engagement with the tourism industry. [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] is one of the world's most-traveled to destinations both due to features of the city itself as well as pilgrims going to the [[Papal State]]. Internally, the [[Ionian Highlands]] were once the major tourist location in Urcea and for much of southern [[Levantia]], offering mountain airs and sweeping panoramas during the peak of the Ionian hotel age, which reached its climax with the [[Ionian Hotel War]]. Ionian tourism went into steep decline during the [[Red Interregnum]] and failed to recover, especially due to the advent of commercial air travel during the 20th century.