Lake Süshasser

The largest lake in the south Frontier Lands, lake Süshasser is a freshwater lake home to a wide variety of fish found nowhere else in the Frontier Lands. Claimed by the small nation of Klarland its shores are dotted with settlements of people who fish its depths and those who provide goods and service to these fishermen. However, the lake is not without its dangers as numerous monsters call the lake home, and the weather on the lake can sometimes turn quickly, especially when a tropical storm or worse blows in from the Esas Ocean.

Geography

Sitting at an elevation of roughly 1600 feet above sea level lake Säshasser is a subtropical lake that is roughly one hundred miles across at its widest and its average depth is 289 feet with its deepest point 933 feet deep. It is surrounded on all sides by plains, and the shores are dominated by grasslands though these grasslands are dotted with numerous trees. The trees becoming sparser the further one gets from the lake and from the water it provides. A number of small islands dot the lake, the largest being only five miles across. None of these islands are home to permanent settlements, though occasionally fishermen will camp on one.

Ecosystem

Located in the subtropics, the lake doesn’t go through the seasonal changes that mark temperate zones, instead being characterized by hot summers with mild winters and infrequent frosts. As such, the growing season is year-round and the lifeforms have adapted to that. Even during the infrequent frosts, the lake water seldom gets too cold allowing for the constant growth of various water plants. This lush growth in turn feeds numerous herbivorous life forms who in turn feed the many carnivorous life forms.

Fauna & Flora

Among the many trees that grow along its shores and on the islands that dot the lake are the avocado, azalea, bald cypress, bottlebrush, camellia, crape myrtle, eucalyptus, fig, firebush, flowering maple, gardenia, hebe, hibiscus, ixora, jatropha, jessamine, magnolia, mangrove, mango, mimosa, oleander, plumbago, poinciana, screw pine, trumpet tree, and umbrella tree. In addition, numerous species of olives, though not native, have been planted and cultivated by the human settlers. Smaller plants such as the agave, aloe vera, alstroemeria, anthurium, begonia, bird of paradise, bougainvillea, bromeliads, caladium, canna, clivia, cobra lily, coleus, dahlia, echeveria, elephant ear, fern, fuchsia, ginger, gladiolus, heliconia, medinilla, pentas, and salvia are found along the shore and growing lushly on the islands. Further, numerous grasses have sprung up in the region along the shore with the clearcutting of much of the trees that once lived there.

Numerous species inhabit the lake, of particular note are a rare freshwtare dolphin and a giant otter. Also found in its depths are anacondas and caimans as well as numerous species of turtles. Innumerable species of fish dwell in the lake from the giant arapaima which can grow to a length of fifteen feet to tiny guppies that form large schools. Large numbers of waterfowl inhabit the shores of the lake, including migratory geese in the winter.

Natural Resources

Apart from the flora and fauna already mentioned the lake has little to offer in the way of natural resources. Undine prospectors have found a few seems of silver on the bottom of the lake, but they have proven too small to be worth mining at this time.

History

The lake is quite old and has long been an important resource to the inhabitants of the Frontier Lands. The ruins of several Iliosgy communities dot the shore, indicating that its shorelines were inhabited at least some three thousand years ago. At the time of the most recent human migrations the lake shore was home to several tribes of greenskin orcs who made their homes in the dense forests that dotted the lake shore. These were driven away by the early human and elven settlers in the area, who coveted the resources of the lake as well as the timber that grew around the shores of the lake. The forests are largely gone being reduced to a few stands of trees dotting the shore, but the humans and related peoples have stayed fishing the lake and settling the shore. In addition, a few communities of undines have settled the shores of the lake. Currently claimed by the small nation of Klarland, the human settlements of the lake are mostly unconcerned with who claims dominion over them so long as they are left in peace to fish the lake. The elven and undine communities on the shores are less sanguine about being tributaries of a human dominated nation, though as of yet they have done nothing to claim independence.

Type

Lake

Location under

Frontier Lands