Re: Re: Mountains in Dragon Pass

From: Jane Williams <janewilliams20_at_...>
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:59:05 -0700 (PDT)

> There is a single recorded incident of a high mountain village in the
> Quivin Hills (err, mountains... whatever) - the hidden clan of the
> Karandoli during their revenge against the Jenstali. And I am pretty
> certain that they occupied a "hidden valley", aka a short world or
> extension of the hero planes.

I'm still pretty sure that was an intermediate base, and the place they actually lived was Badside, Pavis.

> Jane wanted to call on my "expertise" - sorry to disappoint.

> I'm a lowlander from northern Germany, where we apply the name "berg" even
> to above-average drumlins and morraines.

But, unlike most of us, you've actually studied geography and geology beyond the age of about 16, I believe? (well, I did geology in my first year of college, but I scraped a third, so that hardly counts)

> Soft, chalky rock would have been ground down to nicely rounded forms
> (just as Snowdonia) in this cradle of storms.

(nods) Some bits of Snowdonia are nicely jagged, but too much isn't.

> What we get instead is some basal or metamorph rock pushed up by tectonic
> and/or volcanic activity, getting craggy in the process, then whittled down..

Yes, I'd prefer a volcanic model, for the Quivins at least. Not sure about the Stormwalks?

> Or carved out - one of my favourite comparisons are the Lyngsalpane
> (Lyngen Alps) near Tromso:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyngen_Alps

"... the width is 15–20 km...." Yes!! We have Stormwalks! Er... maybe. The Stormwalks lack fjords, or any water to carve them out.

> Storm Mountains: Some volcanic, some basal rock, the tallest peak being
> Stormwalk Mountain. A tectonic consequence of the Footprint, according to
> one myth of origin, or a wall built to separate the realms of little
> brother and the bull. Sons of Vestkarthen, the tallest one of them
> beheaded.

Yes.... Nice sharp volcanic rocks would be good.

> Somehow chalky rock and Vestkarthen (of the Deep, remember) doesn't work
> for me.

I'm trying to remember about Vestkarthen - did "of the deep" imply deep sea by any chance? But I agree that we want sharp mountains, not soft ones.

> The "hills" of Sartar probably are some of the same as the mountains (the
> ridges, for instance) and else chalky rock or sandstone, sediments either
> of the long time earth spent under water before being born (think of a
> huge, cubic pearl) or of one of several inundations (where rivers flowing
> uphill will have caused strange sedimentation patterns, btw).

Yes, the lowlands may well look like downs.