Barkold

Barkold is home to the oldest continuously inhabited ports in the ocean's known waters.  At the height of the Oceanic Era's tiderider culture, Barkold represented the eastern extreme of the busiest trade routes; in the Volcanic Era, it is the westernmost regularly visited island. It remains an important location to tiderider families, and despite its distance from the Cluster Islands it is home to the largest regular trade market of the year.

Geography

Barkold is one of the largest atolls in the West Gap, and the only one still inhabited after the mass evacuations at the end of the Oceanic Era.  It has two major islands, Barkold Proper and Barkold Out-lie, and a series of five coral islands known as The Chain.  Barkold Proper is the westernmost continuously exposed land and largest island, 30 km between its southernmost and easternmost points at lowest tide.  Submerged sandbars enclose the ring except for a wide break to the south, allowing boat traffic to enter the lagoon.

Type

Island