Northern Chalcedonia - a WIP

[mythus]

Greetings,

I'm not sure what's the status on my other post with screenshots, but I've made some changes to the map since then. I also have been working on the whole swamp problem, and have an updated image to share.

I haven't worked out the whole swamp texturing thing yet, I want to first make sure the swamp is in a good location and fits well with the map and with how things typically work. So If I could, I'd like to get a critiq on the new swamp placement (and of course the rest of the map).

You may notice that I have removed some of the swamps. I have then exended the southern most swamp down to the coast. The blending at the swamp borders still needs some work I think, and maybe the extent of the swamp? I'd love to find a way to keep that souther lake/river area swampy for current story element purposes, but if it doesn't work then things can be changed.

Also please review the river changes, and other things!

Again, this is a screenshot, with the image zoomed out to fit the window. The original map is much larger than this...

[Robulous]

Looks better now. Geography geek point: you're right that rivers do sometimes divide but it tends to happen only when going around obstructions of higher ground, forming islands, or on totally flat land where the water meanders, and flat land like this almost always occurs near the coast, not up in the hills where your first version divided. You often see river divisions in deltas, estuaries and swamps. This is all down to the law of gravity - just like electricity, water flows down the path of least resistance. There are also man-made rivers and canals which link river systems, but these tend to be straight.

[mythus]

Thank you for that explanation!

[the-golem]

Greetings,

I'm not sure what's the status on my other post with screenshots, but I've made some changes to the map since then. I also have been working on the whole swamp problem, and have an updated image to share.

Hmmm. I confess I did not see that previous post with the zoomed in areas. I must be a blooming idiot. Anyway, the zoomed in marshy areas aren't necessarily as bad as I thought they were, but it's really hard to decifer off of over-continental image I was referring to.

Anyway, referring back to your #3, we always refer to how things work here on Earth, because, well, it's the only example of an "M-class" planet we've got; the nearest approximation for Elseworld Physics and Geography is going to be our own. The same goes for magic. We cannot know what effect magic would have on a world with any kind of reliability

[mythus]

Ah yes, that is definetly true and something that I should have considered.

It is an interesting thing really. I mean many strive to create new environments while others like to create alternate versions of earth itself. But the question always is just how different can new worlds be if they have all the same basic features of earth - water, soil, mountains, etc...

Clearly I am becoming aware that with similar elements one must expect that similar laws apply. And thanks to you and Rob I am more aware of those fundemental laws. When thinking back on it it does just make sense and applying the changes to the map to fit these laws does make the map look, feel, and flow better. So thank you for this instructional conversation. I have indeed learned a lot.

Regarding those zoomed in images they weren't there when you replied last. I had posted them before but for some reason they needed to be approved. I suspect that was because of my low post count, but its weird that the message I posted before that one went on through.

A couple of things that I am still trying to work out are the swamp placements and then thinking about removing the dark river borders. Any thoughts? Did you see my last upload with the changed swamp? If so thoughts? I want to get that fixed before I look into making it swampy if ya know what I mean.

Posted via phone so please ignore oddities.

[atpollard]

Minnesota gives a fair idea of what inland rivers, lakes and swamps can do:

[mythus]

I didn't know Minnesota had swamps! Though I guessthat I shouldn't be surprised right? After all, Ohio had the Black Swamp before they drained it for fertile farming land.

I wonder though if those swamps could truly be classified as inland swamps? After all, the Great Lakes are like fresh water seas in their own right. If so, then it must be the over abundance of rivers and lakes in typically flat land. It would be interesting to see i there are swamps in the middle of the country (or any large land mass) as well. I don't doubt the possiblity, just would be interesting.

So thanks for the share!

[cfds]

I guess the reason for all the swamps in the northern US/southern Canada is the (geologically) young terrain. The glaciers of the last ice age flattened the land and left rather soft material behind. I also suspect that the climate in this region (I guess it it cold in the winter and you get nice floodings in springtime when the snow melts) makes for additional erosion.

And I guess "inland swamp" means no mixing with salt water as in mangrove groves.

[mythus]

Hmmm... possibly.

Where I live I'm praticlly surrounded by swamps, though I'd wager that the majority are of fresh water despite being near the coast. But then again, I could be wrong lol. I think I'll need to do research here, but it was always to my understanding that swamps were of low-level areas typically connected to a bayou, river, creek, or surrounding a lake or coast line. In the coast line situation, as with all others, dense reads and other marsh like plants provide a filter of sorts from the swamp to the larger body of water.

Again, I'll have to look that up to make sure on it... I could be far off base there, but that's what it looks like to me with the swamps here.

[the-golem]

I'd at the very least classify coastal marshes as brackish. Calling them freshwater when they're so close to the oceans just seems wrong. Another guy here did a regional area with wetlands/marshes, and I think they look pretty good. Check out The Empires of Try & Error