THE RAINFORESTS INTERIOR

By Hersius

Introduction

This article familiarizes the TGV readership with the interior geography of the Gorean rainforests. Mention is made of the coast, but most coastal information is reserved for a future article.

All page references in this article are to Book 13, Explorers of Gor, unless otherwise noted.

The Rainforests

The lands spoken of as “the rainforests” encompass more than jungle and extend for more than just a few degrees astride the equator. In general, an “equatorial” climate stretches from 0-8 degrees latitude, a “monsoonal” climate is found at 8-12 degrees, and “savannahs” are found at 12-18 degrees. These articles treat “the rainforests” as meaning the cultural geographic region between 18 N and 18 S, which covers some 36 degrees of latitude. TGV Feb 2003. The Xerxex map shows part of that southern space occupied by the Ta-Thassa Mountains. The region is thousands of pasangs in depth and thousands in width, and that description accords well with these latitude and longitude estimates. Page 310.

The shape of the region is seen to be a rough square. These articles recognize that the rainforests would belt the planet unless stopped by geography, and they postulate that the Ven Highlands form the eastern and northern boundaries of the area. A corridor of plains is envisioned between the Ven Highlands and the Voltai. TGV Sep 2003. These articles place the easternmost edge of the Ven Highlands at about 10 W and place the Thassa coastline at an average of 45 W, making the region cover some 35 degrees of longitude. These articles also see the amount of linear distance covered by a degree of longitude at the equator to be very close to the distance covered by a degree of latitude. Comparing Gor to the size of Venus, these articles use 84 pasangs as the distance between each degree of latitude and, at the equator, 85 pasangs as the distance between each degree of longitude. TGV Mar 2003.

The study of the rainforests is the study of elevations, and the rainforests region is best visualized as either an ampitheater or a series of armchairs facing west. The region is at its highest elevations in the south, east, and north, and the land descends in plateaus punctuated by drops in elevation as the central land area is neared. The central zone is just above sea level. TGV Dec 2004.

The elevations descend from east to west. These articles place the eastern portion of the Ven Highlands from around 10 W to around 20 W and then stair-step elevations down to a point probably around 33 W. That point would be where the falls and caratracts of Bila Haruma are located, as they are only some 100 pasangs upriver from Lake Ngao. Page 19. This allows for the distances between the coast and the falls and cataracts of Bila Haruma as well as for the extreme length of the Ua. Recall that Cabot travelled on the Ua for over 4 months. Page 382. This also accounts for the high-altitude location of Lake Shaba. Beginning in the east, it is noted that Lake Shaba is thousands of feet above sea level. Page 417. The lake does not define the eastern tip of the rainforests since yet more jungle extends beyond it. Page 445. The lake must itself be surrounded by higher elevations, perhaps in the generalized shape of a bowl, for it is estimated that a thousand streams and rivers must feed into it, each with the promise of opening new areas to exploration, as it drains the eastern extremity of the equatorial zone. Pages 417, 455. The Ua river is born at a falls on the southwestern shoreline of the lake. As it flows westward, it descends in elevation in stairstep fashion, flowing over levels of plateaus separarted by cataracts. Pages 300, 306, 338, 376. The eastward “ascent of the Ua” becomes the westward descent. Page 431. The elevations reach bottom at the base of the falls and cataracts of Bila Haruma and so probably do so generally at that longitude.

The elevations similarly descend from the north and south toward the center. Some of this land may not even be jungle, since plains and savannahs exist north and south of the equatorial zone. Pages 93, 253. The Thassa Cartius, which drains the northern section of the Ven Highlands, is defined in terms of six cataracts separating the levels that must be traversed between the origin point and the place at which the river leaves the rainforests to cross the “sloping western flatlands to join the Vosk at Turmus.” Page 16. That exit point is itself at a higher elevation than is Lake Ushindi, and it is that difference in elevations that first made men realize that the Cartius and Thassa Cartius were two distinct rivers. Page 16.

The central portion is slightly above sea level. These articles place that portion between around 5 N and 15 S. The final cataract along the Ua is the falls known as the falls and cataracts of Bila Haruma. From that point on, the interior floor is around sea level in elevation with a continual slight sloping westward. The Ua becomes the eastern tip of Lake Ngao, Lake Ngao overflows its western shore to create a vast swamplands, the swamp drains slowly westward into Lake Ushindi, and the two major rivers from Lake Ushindi then flow westward to the ocean.

Four major riverine systems are known. These are the Ua, the Cartius, the Thassa Cartius, and the Kamba-Nyoka.

The Ua river leaves Lake Shaba, drains much of the interior, and empties into Lake Ngao. It flows westward in a twisting course. Pages 302, 338, 376, 379. The river is thousands of pasangs in length. Page 455. During its journey, the river varies greatly in width. In some places, it has islands and is so wide that Cabot wonders whether a fleet of boats could have passed them going the other direction without him being aware. Pages 414, 415, 416. In other places, it is only 200 to 400 yards wide. In yet other places, it narrows so much that a net can be strung across it. Pages 292, 381. The Ua has tributaries. Pages 221, 308, 312. By the time it reaches Lake Ngao, the Ua actually forms the eastern tip of the lake. There, it is wide enough to contain islands pasangs long and to be indistinguishable from the lake itself. Pages 282, 283. Along its course, the Ua flows by hundreds of geographical features, including cliffs, rock overhangs, and an apparently inexhaustable world of precious metals and other resources. Pages 309, 383.

The Cartius is a southern plains river as well as a rainforests river. It is the only major southern plains river. It starts in the southern Voltai and flows in a northwesterly direction, crossing nearly the entire expanse of the southern plains before it passes through the Ta-Thassa Mountains and drops into the rainforests. It then descends in elevation and empties into Lake Ushindi from the southern shore. TGV Oct 2003.

The Thassa Cartius first flows from east to west in the northern portion of the rainforests, draining the Ven Highlands, and then leaves the rainforests at a point probably slightly northwest of the northwestern shore of Lake Ushindi and flows in a northwesterly direction down descending terrain to eventually reach the Vosk at Turmus. TGV Sept 2003, Oct 2003.

The Kamba and Nyoka are navigable rivers that originate from Lake Ushindi at points apparently on its western shore and then flow in snakelike meandering toward the ocean. Pages 16, 17, 34, 99, 100, 108, 220.

Three major interior lakes are known. These are Ushindi, Ngao, and Shaba.

Lake Ushindi is some 200 pasangs from the coast. Page 104. Some 400 pasangs of swamplands separate it from Lake Ngao. Pages 220, 221, 233, 261, 263, 277, 345. The swamplands may not be as wide from north to south as from east to west, as shown by the nearness of villages that exist within raiding distance of the canal being built. Pages 266, 268.

Lake Ngao is shaped like a shield with the length east to west. Page 100. Its length is substantial. Cabot’s party travelled for 20 days from west to east before noting any evidence of the Ua. Page 281. At the same time, the lake is so wide from north to south that people from the shores are not likely to travel in the middle regions. Page 279.

Lake Shaba is larger than either of the other two known lakes. Page 417. At its eastern shore is a huge lost city now in ruin. Page 418. At the southwestern shore is a high falls descending from the lake, signalling the start of the Ua River. Pages 417, 446, 450, 451, 454.

Scenic Description

You wear the air. The last rain saturated the air, now once again heated by the tropical sun and kept warm and near by the green canopy. On days when the torrents pummel downward twice a day, the wood stays wet and the muddy places stay muddy.

The air smells full and rich. Soil smells, a constant background of both living and rotting vegetation, and the sharp punctuation of flowers. Heady, almost musky, and most interesting of all, ever-changing in subtleties. The rainforest has an almost language in the communications encoded in the scents. Nature announces itself. Breathe deeply the thick oxygen laced with nature’s identifiers.

Background

The rainforests straddle the equator. The term “equatorial” is used a number of times to refer to the rainforests. Pages 233, 253, 454, 455. However, the region straddles the equator broadly rather than narrowly, and it is important to note that even though the events of Book 13 take place south of the equator, the entire area occupies lands both north and south of the equator.

Schendi is south of the equator, and Lake Ushindi seems to be due east of Schendi. Lake Ngao and the intervening swamp seem to be due east of Lake Ushindi. That places Schendi and Lakes Ushindi and Ngao at about the same latitude. These articles locate Schendi and the lakes at about 10 degrees S. Because the Ua River winds, the latitude of Lake Shaba is not known. Since the Cartius drains the northern latitudes of the region, these articles prefer to place Lake Shaba south of the equator and southeast of Lake Ngao. These articles place it in the neighborhood of 15 S.