Themmit Rift
The Thimmit Rift (Dwarvish: Stjora Mav, Elvish: Daradar, Glav: Bekiwis) is a steep-sided canyon carved by unkown means. The Themmit Rift is located in the eastern part of the Themmit Desert, in the lands controlled by the Mercantile Republic. The Themmit Rift is 317 miles long, up to 28 miles wide, and attains a known depth of over 5 miles. It sits 5,451 feet above sea level at the lowest point of the rim. Because of this large elevation change to the lower desert, the rim of the rift has a drastically different ecological environment compared to the rest of the low sitting desert that surrounds the rift.
The rim and side-walls of the rift are pitch black, and dotted with various gems and ores depending on the depth of the rift. Even though it is possible for the sun and moons to be positioned directly above the rift, it is so deep that light diffuses off the lusterless walls, eventually plunging the bottom (if their is one) in darkness.
About 3 billion of Asyur's geological history has been exposed to the air and samples taken from the side have been studied by geologist the world over. While the creation of this rift is debated by geologist and scholars, it has been observed that the rift is growing at a rate of 0.2 inches every year. The most leading belief is that the rift was formed from millions of years of water erosion from a river that now flows deep underground. Many of the waterfalls that burst from the sides of the rift are used as evidence to support this theory.
For thousands of years the area has been uninhabited, but according to recent archeological surveys of the area ruins belonging to the dwarves have been found buried beneath the sandy dunes found in-between the coast and the western rim of the rift.
Carcino elected to build the largest prison of the Dalelands into the side of the rift where prisoners are forced to work off their debt to society via strip mining the valuable gems and ores of the walls. Executions aren't often held at the rift as dead prisoners aren't conductive to a mining operation. But on the rare occasion that a prisoner can't be transported back to their homeland for an execution, the prisoner is placed in a large wooden cage and suspended over the rift. Then the large support holding the cage is torched, sending the prisoner and the flaming cage careening into the rift, doomed to fall to their death in a blazing sight.
Geography
Uplift associated with mountain formation later moved these sediments thousands of feet upward and created the Grand Plateau. The higher elevation has also resulted in greater precipitation in the drainage areas that feed into the rift but not enough to change the Themmit Rift area from being semi-arid. he uplift of the Grand Plateau is uneven, and the Salt Plateau that the Themmit Rift bisects is over 1,500 feet higher at the North Rim than at the South Rim. Almost all runoff from the North Rim (which also gets more rain and snow) flows toward the Themmit Rift, while much of the runoff on the plateau behind the South Rim flows away from the canyon (following the general tilt). The result is deeper and longer tributary washes and canyons on the north side and shorter and steeper side canyons on the south side.
Temperatures on the North Rim are generally lower than those on the South Rim because of the greater elevation (averaging 8,200 feet). Heavy rains are common on both rims during the summer months. Access to the North Rim via the primary route leading to the canyon is limited during the winter season due to heavy snowfall.
Alternative Name(s)
Black Rift, Deep Dark, Word Scar
Type
Gorge / Rift
Location under
Included Locations
Owning Organization
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