UMF - Geography & Fauna
Geography
The United Mercantile Federation covers some 150 degrees of longitude and 80 of latitude and is a land of contrasts. The terrain ranges from deserts and broad savannah in the south to lush forests and arctic wasteland in the north. The Mercantile climate is similarly vaned, with the southern regions frequently buffeted by Badlands-born tempests while the Marathon Basin and northern expanses are protected from the worst of these storms by five broad mountain ranges. These mountain ranges also divide the land into distinct regions, each of which has its own microclimate, influencing the range of flora and fauna. Each of these regions plays a major role in the UMF‘s society, shaping the industry and economy of its city-states and settlements. The regions all present wide ranges of both resources and challenges, and a well-known Mercantile proverb states: ”There are no such things as obstacles to be overcome. Rather, there are opportunities we have yet to decide how to exploit”.
Mountains and Lakes
The Federation's mountain ranges play a major role in shaping climate and vegetation patterns, but they also serve as major barriers to movement and contain significant mineral deposits. The Westridge Range forms the border with the WFP and delineates the Western edge of the Marathon Basin and Cajun Plains, while the Downing Range serves as the region's eastern boundary. Only four major passes cross the Westridge Range and one of these, the Cajun Pass west of Mainz, has been closed since it became the target of UMF chemical weapons in the WFP's abortive invasion of TN 1570. The Downing range also forms the border between the Ashington and Zagreb Plains and the Sangar Basin, while the broad expanse of the Southern Spur separates the Eastern Marathon Basin from both the Badlands and the Ashington Basin. Mount Alban, in the Downing range between Marathon and Lyonnesse, is the highest peak in the UMF and the site of many outdoor pursuit centers. The Quinn Range forms the other two sides of the basin though much of the northern span, south of Rapid City and bounding the Zihl Salt Flats, is little more than hills. The area immediately north of the Quinn Range is known as the Byerst Plain and forms part of the gently rolling polar basin. The northern tip of the Pacifica Range divides the Zagreb and Northern Plains before curving around to merge with the western tip of the Tershaw Range. The Pacifica range contains one of only two volcanoes in the UMF, Mount Lowen. The other, Mount Mosvari, i s located i n the far southern tip of the Downing Range's Southern Spur, though several Badlands volcanoes, most notably those at the heart of the Great White Desert, occasionally erupt and spew ash into the UMF.
The MacAllen Network serves as the UMF's primary source of water, though a number of rivers flow in the Marathon and Sangar Basins as well as on the Tudor Plain that extends south from the Arctic Basin. A number of lakes feed and are fed by these rivers, many of which result from the region's high precipitation, though others are fed by the MacAllen Network. Almost 800 kilometers long, Lake Tristan is the Federation's largest body of fresh water and i s the principal site of the league's fishing industry. The fisheries based on Lake Windermere on the Tudor Plain west of Djakarta Point and the saltwater lakes of the Southern Sangar Basin are less developed, but nonetheless play a vital role in the region's economy.
The High Arctic
The Polar Basin comprises the most northerly expanse of the Federation, a mix of tundra, taiga forest and lakes. Though much of the high arctic is unsuited to any form of industry save logging, the region i s dotted with vacation resorts that cater to the sports of fishing and sailing. In the frigid extreme north, the city-state of Pioneer exploits cycle-round snow and ice to become the CNCS' principal winter-sports venue. Indeed, with snow and ice a rarity on Terra Nova, many regard a trip to Pioneer as the ultimate holiday.
Climate
The summer season provides the region with its greatest rainfall, with the amount gradually increasing closer to the poles. The mountainous terrain has a major impact on precipitation, however, with increased rainfall on the upwind (generally western) sides of the chains and a pronounced area of reduced precipitation, a “rain shadow,” downwind. The most pronounced of these is the Zihl Salt Flats in the lee of the Downing Range though, ironically, the southern region of the basin contains a large number of rivers and lakes, fed by the McAllen network and run-off from the mountain range. The highest Levels of rainfall occur around Lyonnesse, with rain-bearing winds funneled between the northwestern tip of the Downing Range and the western spur of the Quinn mountains.
Temperatures on the Badlands fringe average about 35C during the summer, falling to around 25C during in winter. This pattern holds true throughout the savannah and plains region, with temperatures falling by about 3.75 degrees for every ten degrees further north. Local microclimates, caused by mountains and large bodies of water, can produce more pronounced variations.
Fauna & Flora
As one travels north from the Badlands, the changes in vegetation are clearly apparent. Scrub vegetation and lichen dominate the border region but are replaced by wild johar where water from the MacAllen Network percolates to the surface. Sand-beet originated on the Badlands fringe, but this nutritious (although bland) distant relative of the johar family has become the focus of large-scale commercial exploitation in the more fertile northern regions where it competes with genetically modified Terran cereals. The regions of highest precipitation, notably the northern reaches of the Marathon Basin, the Byerst Plain and the upwind flanks of most mountain ranges, are blanketed with dense woodland. In the taiga woodland of the high latitudes this is principally Terranovan pine, but saguaro i s more common in the drier regions on the Badlands fringe.
Small, insect-like flappers are accepted as a vital part of the arable region, serving as the principal vector for pollinating plants. They are, however, capable of wiping out entire crops. Johar worms and wheat-jackets are the target of major pest control programs. Larger fauna such as grassrunners are common in wilderness regions but are less tolerated in farmsteads and are trapped and shot. Most farmers cannot understand the desire of city folk to keep domesticated ’runners as pets. Springers are the staple of many ranches and wild varieties roam throughout the UMF, though pack hunters like dawgs and prairie jackals keep their numbers down. Barnabus Iguanas are also commonplace, both in the wild and domesticated. The many northern lakes provide the ideal home for lakewasps and their swarms are regarded as the bane of the tourist industry.
History
Scorched Earth
The UMF has repeatedly shown itself willing to use extreme measures to defend against outside threats. Strategic weapons play a major role in this policy, with the Mercantile government willing to sacrifice land in exchange for time to prepare. In TN 1570, the UMFA used nerve gas to halt an assault by troops of the WFP, not only killing the defenders and the Mercantile rear-guard, but also poisoning the landscape and rendering the area unsafe for human beings. Indeed, even now some 360 cycles after the incident, the Cajun Pass remains closed to the public.
This all fades into insignificance, however, when compared to the War of Alliance. In grave danger of seeing the UMF overrun by the Colonial Expeditionary Force's GREL shock troops, The Caucus authorized the use of strategic weapons to stem the tide and give the UMFA and Northern Guard time to respond. Use of both chemical and nuclear weapons was widespread along the Badlands border and the southern reaches of the Marathon Basin. Tracts of once-verdant farmland were turned into a radioactive wasteland and remain uninhabitable. In addition to those areas directly affected by the weapons, a number of down-wind areas received trace doses of chemical weapons and nuclear fallout. Though they are at far from dangerous levels, CNCS and Mercantile environmentalists fear that these toxins will accumulate in the food chain and pose a threat to human and animal life in the area.
The diseased land has been put to good use by the military, who use the site to conduct live fire exercises and final NBC training and qualification under true conditions. A few officers have scoffed at the economic folly of exposing perfectly good troops to possible contaminatlon. but most agree that the element of danger present increases the effectiveness of the training. In general, only a small portion of the UMFA undergoes these extensive NBC drills because of their cost. There are other benefits to the presence of troops in the area: the samples and measurements they take daily for their safety are made available to biologists monitoring the ecology of the region.
Over the cycles, some of the affected areas have begun to recover, with the hardiest species of johar grass attempting to regain a foothold on the exposed soil. The elements have started to wash away the most obvious signs of damage, and most craters have been reduced to shallow depressions in the ground. This has not diminished their danger, however, and people traveling through the region are advised to carry Geiger counters and chemical sniffers for safety. Trekking by foot is also inadvisable; a vehicle, even a lowly truck, offers at least marginal protection against radiation.
Comments