[WIP] Unnamed

[Deoridhe]

I love all of the work you've been putting into this! You're an inspiration~!!! It looks fantastic.

[davoush]

Thanks for the kind comments, Deoridhe.

I am also working on a better elevation map. It won't be super detailed as I'm doing it by hand, but I was wondering if this looks more or less ok? I don't know if the large plateau area would have so much of it at 6000+ m elevation?

(Edit: See updated map)

[davoush]

The very precise atlas style elevation map wasn't working for me. After all, I want this map for language and story purposes - it just needs to look nice and convey the right amount of information. I have decided to go for a more painterly style topographical map. It might not be 100% scientifically accurate, but at least it shows where the main areas of elevation are. This will need tidying up in places, but I think it looks ok overall. Maybe the colours are a bit too muted?

Shaded.png

[Azélor]

A further question I have is: On the eastern landmass, there is a large mountainous area (an old, now un-active collision) with a plateau at around 20-40 latitude. Below it is a large, flat desert, which I imagine would transition into a cold desert as the plateau rises? Would it be reasonable for this transition zone to contain pockets of more temperate zones (maybe mediterranean-like)? I imagine it is kind of similar to the Sahara, with a large plateau situated to the East and slightly north. I will upload a picture tomorrow to illustrate this.

Yes it is possible. 2 possible scenarios

1- higher elevation are cooler and can receive more precipitation depending on the regional geography. Ethiopia for example has temperate climate but is surrounded by dry land. It's not too far from the sea so winds carry moisture. Note that in this case the climate is usually cwb or sometimes cfb.

2 - rivers are possible since they can carry water from a faraway area. You will have vegetation there. See the Tarim river in China for example. The climate is still shown as a desert.

Lastly there could be oasis.

[Azélor]

? I don't know if the large plateau area would have so much of it at 6000+ m elevation?

After working on an elevation map lately I've found that above 5000-5500 there are mostly mountain tops. And that's because Tibet is located between 2 of the highest ranges in the world. You just have an old plateau with no mountains nearby. Depending how old the plateau is, it could be in the range of 1000-2000 with
some higher summits.

For example, I live just South of the laurentian plateau. It's used to be as high as the Himalaya but 3 billion years later, the highest summit is about 1200 m high. They look more like hills than mountains.

[davoush]

Thanks Azelor, that is very useful to know.

I changed the set up of old mountains somewhat, so the plateau is reduced a bit on the Eastern continent. There is an area of highlands between the two ranges, but it doesn't reach more than approx. 2000m.

I have made a basic elevation map, it would be great if anybody could tell me if any areas seem immediately wrong/implausible?

Also, I am still looking to place some inland seas/lakes around, but I am not sure where so any comments would be more than welcome. There is a depression/basin on the Western continent around 30 degrees, between the two ranges, but I imagine this would be dry as there is a very big desert there.

Thanks!

Terrain with Key.png

[Pixie]

Also, I am still looking to place some inland seas/lakes around, but I am not sure where so any comments would be more than welcome. There is a depression/basin on the Western continent around 30 degrees, between the two ranges, but I imagine this would be dry as there is a very big desert there.

That's actually a good place for an inland sea or at least a large lake. The setting is right for a large endorheic basin (that's an area where the lowest land isn't connected to the sea). There's recent mountains in the SE, all the way to tropical latitudes, and extensive highlands closing on the NE and N. The whole continent would drain to the SW, but there's where the most recent rift is happening, which raises the land, closing the basin. So it's pretty plausible to have it closed from all sides.
Then you need water. Since the lower land will probably be in desertic conditions (low altitude, around 15-20º, oceanic winds blocked by continuous mountain range), your sea will suffer a lot of evaporation. But that's not necessarily a problem - it just needs to have a high input to balance it. The Andes-style mountains lie on tropical latitudes will provide a steady source of water - like Ethiopia to the Nile. The highlands plateau to its north will provide extra flow, in summer due to mountain ice melt, in winter from actual rain, but more variable.

You have some liberty in placing the lake and in deciding its size, but avoid placing it close to the tropics. If the inflow of water is too large, an endorheic basin fills up, becomes eroded or overly filled with sediment, a canal opens, it drains out and becomes a flat plain (and over time, more erosion happens and it becomes "not so flat" - watch this video). If the inflow is too small, on the other hand, it still becomes a flat basin (like the Tulare lake/central California), where sometimes during the year one or more streams run into nowhere (like the Tarim basin)

[davoush]

Thanks for the useful and informative comments as usual! I will consider making that basin a closed lake. I may have misunderstood - but do closed lakes not often occur in the tropics because they would basically end up forming a large plain (leading to the ocean)?

I feel that the Eastern landmass is not as interesting in terms of elevation (this is probably to be expected as there aren't any active tectonics going on except the far-east coast). The far-east subcontinent is bothering me because there is a currently active Andes-style range being formed, but the rest is rather flat until it reaches the mainland where it collided long ago.

Do any areas of the eastern landmass strike you as likely to contain inland seas/lakes? I am considering making the middle portion (around 20º) a bit higher and maybe including some more elevated parts towards west coast of the eastern landmass. Thanks again.

[Pixie]

I wouldn't add large endorheic lakes anywhere else. Smaller ones can happen pretty much anywhere, specially in sub-polar conditions - see Finland map and Canada map... And yes, tropical areas have more rain, thus more erosion, thus more sediment carried - endorheic basins are tectonically just as likely (to my knowledge), but will have shorter lives. Although the truth is no endorheic basin is going to last forever.

Extensive flat areas may seem less exciting, but... Siberia... Midwest... Australia... China... they have their place.

[Azélor]

The western continent might not be very interesting to look at but many areas on Earth are also pretty boring if you just look at the general elevation map.

Boring is ok, it's a nice place to grow a civilization.