How Bad is My Coastline: Continent of Alm

[Crudus]

I think rotating the whole thing counter-clockwise a bit would make things seem more natural for a northern hemisphere continent, where northernmost areas will be colder and drier. As for rain-shield effect, consider that storm systems in the north hemisphere spiral clockwise: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corioli...ct#Meteorology so rain might spiral around the top of a western mountain range to wet that area, but not the bottom. Somewhere on these forums I read a thread where the poster had done a really detailed workup of weather patterns and how they would effect climates on his worldmap, but I can't remember if it was a tutorial or a WIP thread, and I'm having trouble finding it via search. Maybe a more seasoned member can call it up from memory?

As far as advice with breaking up the areas, I would suggest looking at a physical or satellite map of Eurasia and noticing the patterns and complexity that exist there. Perhaps it would help for you to imagine where your countries will be, and then think about creating six or seven climates within them (think of it in Australia sized chunks!) Then follow the rules and suggestions people are throwing at you about how to convincingly fit them in.

Edit: going back to geology, think about the different types of soils that might exist in different regions. Heavy rainfall might create forest in one area and swamp in another and karst in another depending on whether it is falling on silty loam, or earthy mountain slopes, or limestone.