WIP World of Calen Ndor

[Jalyha]

Actually, adding the land fixed it... must have been the white that was making it so bright..

It's still kind of glow-y

(Does anyone else see this or just me???)

Sometimes I see things funny :/


Anyway I like your mountains!

[Korba]

Thanks Jalyha, glad it doesn't look so bright now.

Redone the mountains and changed the base color to match my climate map, also added rivers back in. Much happier how it's looking this time

Korba

Calen-Ndor12.jpg

[Caenwyr]

concerning your climates: keep in mind that mountains tend to block influx and outflow of heat, moisture etc. Two regions on the same latitude on different sides of a mountain range can (and often do) have very different climates. Climate zones tend to gradually flow into one another when the terrain permits it, and have sharp borders when there's mountain ridges involved.

If I read your map correctly, the southern regions are covered in snow. I don't think the climate would get any warmer as you move North, since the mountains should normally block any heat from pouring in. Both southwestern valleys would be Arctic throughout, even their northern tips.

Same goes for water, by the way: the narrower of those valleys is landlocked on 3 sides, and the southern sea seems to cold for much evapotranspiration. The river in that valley should therefore be far smaller than it is now, or disappear altogether.

That said, I must say I love the general shape of your continent, and your colour scheme is pretty awesome too!

[Caenwyr]

Also, mountain ranges are seldom perpendicular to the coast. At least, there are very few examples of that in the real world. And those that do, usually shape the coastline in the form of lovely pointy extrusions ( think Kamchatka). Those two parallel mountain ranges in the northwest end in bays, and that's very, very peculiar indeed.

[Jalyha]

Uh... huh?

This is where I get confused... wouldn't the mountains on 3 sides form like... a bowl shape, and catch the rainfall in the center? The rain falls from the sky *above* the mountains, right? So it should fall equally on any side? Someone tried to explain that once, but I didn't get it >.<

[Caenwyr]

Well simply put rain comes from clouds, which in turn are created when water vapour rises up from the earth's surface (usually the ocean, but some humongous forests are also large enough to create rain). Rain clouds might seem pretty far up to the human eye, but they're hanging far lower than the upper reaches of a mountain range. In order to be able to surpass that obstacle, rain clouds drop the only ballast they have: water. So by the time they reach the other side, they've typically lost all their rain already, and you're left with nothing but dry air. That's why the lands east of the Rocky Mountains are so dry, for example.

[Jalyha]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh


It makes more sense as ballast

So occasional rain, maybe, but never enough to create a mighty river or even a big ole' lake.

??

[Caenwyr]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh


It makes more sense as ballast

So occasional rain, maybe, but never enough to create a mighty river or even a big ole' lake.

??

That's exact!

[Korba]

Lots of things to reply to

Before I do here;'s the latest WIP with vegetation:

Calen-Ndor13.jpg

Caenwyr:
My mountains are blocking the air current but due to the size of the continent its actually covering over 30 degrees, as a result the South has a low pressure, cold and wet climate with winds from the South East. The North is high pressure, warm and dry with North Westerly winds.

I agree the bottom valleys are are arctic (I had subarctic). The land color and trees are supposed to represent the steppe climate and boreal forest of Northern Siberia. Rain for the rivers would come from glacier / snow melt. I will remove some of the smaller tributaries to try and show better all the water is coming from the rivers and not picking up any more once it leaves the mountains.

There are different types of mountain on the map. The main u shaped mountain range follows the plate margin, the island chains are continuations of the range, I agree a big headland would be better, I might change that The other mountain ranges are relics of earlier tectonics (hence the rift valley) or caused by stress folds from the main mountain building (like the Downs in SE England formed as the Alps got 'pushed up')

I'm sure I made mistakes in all my initial climate sketch outs but I think the climate is plausible, it's the colors could improve the clarity I'm sure.

Thanks for the comments though.

Korba

[Korba]

Done some tidying on textures and added some ice, rivers should better reflect their origin / climate.

Very pleased so far, not quite sure what to do next without starting over on the land shape.

Korba

Calen-Ndor14.jpg