Trying to do a Fantasy Map for novel. Need help!

[DarkRaven]

I hope you can help me. I am not new to making maps. I have made hundreds! All end up in the trash can. So I come here hoping the I can find some much needed help.

I am trying, emphasis on trying, to create a map for my novel. The story timeframe is the 1500's. The world has been created with two halves. The northern half is the icelands, the southern half is much more temperate but not tropical.

I would like to have a natural barrier separate the two regions but other than having a tall mountain range running east to west , I haven't came up with anything.

Since people travel by foot with only the occasional traveler using a horse. What would be a good scale to use for my map? And I don't think it possible to go from a very cold region to a warmer one without transitions, so on my map can you suggest what the zones could be?

I can't seem to get anything going with my map. Help is desperately needed.

Thank you.

[- Max -]

Some steppes maybe?

[Korash]

I would suggest you look at Russia and Canada to find examples of what you might find in transition zones. Both range from very cold in the North to at least temperate in the south. Mountains COULD also be a break if that is where you want to go, but it would be a bit...phoney if not done well. Same with a huge Grand Canyon type of thing. A lot could depend on the WHY you have that sort of situation going on.

[epicfreak]

Look to the Siberia/Mongolia/Gobi Desert (China) area of the world. It starts out with cold forest (Taiga), transitions to rugged steppes, then to blazingly hot desert. The scales are rather large, but it sounds like exactly what you want. A continental climate would model that best, as in the scenario outlined above.

[jigsawman]

You might also use water of some sort to break them up. It also all depends upon how realistic your story is. Game of Thrones uses the wall as a barrier and the wall is held together by magic.
JSM

[Supine]

Look to the Siberia/Mongolia/Gobi Desert (China) area of the world. It starts out with cold forest (Taiga), transitions to rugged steppes, then to blazingly hot desert. The scales are rather large, but it sounds like exactly what you want. A continental climate would model that best, as in the scenario outlined above.

Just as an aside, the Gobi isn't really that hot. It's actually pretty cold most days. Of course, that only matters if you're packing for a vacation there, which is a really awful idea anyway.

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Just as an aside, the Gobi isn't really that hot. It's actually pretty cold most days. Of course, that only matters if you're packing for a vacation there, which is a really awful idea anyway.

Desert is defined, after all, not by temperature but by lack of precipitation.

[rdanhenry]

Desert is defined, after all, not by temperature but by lack of precipitation.

Which ensures that even "hot deserts" tend to get cold at night, since water retains heat so much better than just about everything else. Deserts are therefore generally areas of temperature extremes.