The Rusted Marsh

The landscape is marked by the silhouette of crumbling buildings and old chimneys that threaten to topple, but merely sink further into the red-brown water. The wetlands is composed of a marsh, most of it submergent under 1-3 metres of water, that was once a thriving valley. The ruined shadow of a town can still be seen, completely saturated with water and overgrown with aquatic vegetation.
The coloured water is the result of the bountiful iron mine that once supplied the prosperous town, now utterly waterlogged, the bodies of the miners who carved the tunnels trapped forever beneath the earth.

History

The large, successful town of Visha once stood in the centre of the valley. It was built upon a very large, very lucrative iron deposit, which supplied jobs and income to Visha's citizens. The town grew very quickly and the population exploded.
Decades ago, unexpectedly severe storms had wracked the area for weeks, eroding away the earth. One afternoon, some distance away, a landslide had caused a river to re-direct through the valley, which was more like a bowl. Mud and water surged through the valley and the town, filling the mines. Those who weren't swept away tried to vacate their homes as they crumbled, and the miners who were too far below the ground to escape the mines were trapped.
The fires of the mighty furnaces and forges were drowned and smoke ceased to rise from the chimneys of the foundry ever again. The copious amounts of iron ore in the town, the foundry and the mines, had coloured the water a deep red-brown.
Survivors of that event say that the water is coloured by the blood of the trapped miners, who still haunt the marsh to this day.

Geography

Much of the old valley is now a permanent wetland, a lake that has swallowed up the ruins of Visha, which still reach out, clawing desperately through the surface of the water. The body of murky, rust-coloured water is usually 1 to 3 metres deep, with some areas closer to the mine entrance sitting at 4 to 6 metres deep. Aquatic vegetation has taken root in scattered clusters across the marsh, around the edges of the water and through the ruins of the town.
Water still streams into the valley but very little flows out, leaving the water stagnant and still.

Ecosystem

The stagnant water allows for many creatures to find a home, largely insects, fish and amphibians, such as pebble-grabbers and rattlebugs. The vegetation is thickest amongst the mouldering ruins of the town, providing a unique environment for a variety of species to live.

Climate

The shape of the valley allows the marsh to maintain a fairly regular humidity, though freezing temperatures can sometimes be a devastating blow for the ecosystem that has been established. A sudden cold snap may potentially kill off nearly half of the flora and fauna currently inhabiting the rusty waters of the marsh.

Fauna & Flora

The mineral stain has had an interesting effect on much of the plant and animal life that dwells within the marsh. The red-brown tint affects almost everything and a couple of unique species have chosen to endure here, such as the hertravine and the blood berries.

Type

Wetland / Swamp