RELATIVE ELEVATIONS

By Hersius

Introduction

The Gorean Voice has brought its readership the first comprehensive online expositions of Gorean geography in terms of latitudes (TGV Feb 2003), longitudes (TGV Mar 2003), and plate tectonics (TGV June 2003). We now add relative elevations to that list. Having some understanding of relative elevations both explains the logic behind certain otherwise curious passages in the Gor books and provides a three-dimensional view of the supercontinent on which the action takes place.

The term, “relative elevations” does not refer to absolute elevations such as the measured height of a specific mountain top or the average elevation of a mountain range. Instead, it refers to the comparison of geographic features to each other in general terms of scale. This article establishes five elevation categories and then identifies and ranks areas within those categories.

From highest to lowest in elevation, the five categories used here are mountains, uplifts, high plains, low plains, and below sea level.

The “Mountains” Category

The mountains identified are the Thentis, Voltai, Sardar, Hrimgar, and Ta-Thassa ranges.

The Thentis range (TGV Apr 2003) appears to be easily the highest known range on the planet. It is described as being lofty compared to the other ranges. The top of the Torvaldsberg is some 17,000 feet in elevation and yet is not the tallest peak. Since Tibet has an average elevation of some 14,000 feet, the Thentis range must have peaks rivaling those of the Himalayas.

The Voltai range (TGV Feb 2004) appears to represent the second highest relative elevation level within the mountain category. Taken as a whole, the Voltai is vaster than any other range and is described as rising like a backbone over the supercontinent. In these articles, the Voltai is said to break at the Tahari into suprataharian and subtaharian ranges. It scales from snowcapped peaks down to foothills.

The Sardar and Hrimgar ranges appear to represent the third highest relative elevation level within this category. The Sardar Mountains (Book 3 esp. Pages 15-18) are geologically recent black volcanic mountains honeycombed with natural tunnels. They are bare sharp rock at the surface. They are high enough to have snowcaps but are nowhere near the Voltai in elevation. The Hrimgar Mountains (Book 12; TGV Jan 2004) are chains that house glaciers. The peaks are wide apart, and they appear to be an onshore continuation of volcanic activity from the intersecting of tectonic plates (TGV June 2003). Either latitude, elevation, or a combination of both could account for their snow. Their height as a whole is not described but the inference is that they are inferior in elevation to the Torvaldsberg, which is located only a few degrees from the chain proper.

The Ta-Thassa range (Book 4; TGV Sep 2003) appears to represent the lowest of the mountain elevations. They, like the Urals of Earth, appear to have resulted from an ancient tectonic plate collision and to have undergone a long period of weathering. No mention is made of the Ta-Thassa Mountains having snow.

The “Uplifts” Category

The uplifts identified are the Ven Highlands, Torvaldsland, and the Northern Forests.

The Ven Highlands (Book 13) are high enough in elevation to prevent the rainforests from belting the planet. On Earth, places designated as highlands can have elevations comparable to mountains. In this case, the Ven Highlands stand in contrast to the Ta-Thassa Mountains. It is possible that whereas the Ta-Thassa range is distinctive as a mountain range, the Ven Highlands begin abruptly overlooking the corridor of plains and then rather diffuse as they lower in elevation westward. The Ven Highlands appear to comprise most of the rainforests and to define their eastern and northern boundaries.

Torvaldsland (Book 9) is a volcanic uplift. It is a tiny triangle of land located north of the Northern Forests, but unlike the polar tundra, the elevation does not curve downward but instead rises upward to form the cold landmass. It quickly gains elevation from the coast going eastward and soon ends at the Hrimgar Mountains. Its lowest elevation point would be its southwestern corner and its highest points would be where it blends into the Hrimgar Mountains that run diagonally from the Northern Forests in the east and Thassa in the west to form Torvaldsland’s northeastern boundary.

The Northern Forests (Books 7 and 8; TGV Jan 2004) seem to be a bump in the planet. They begin abruptly at their southern edge, and they abruptly sweep dramatically into the polar tundra (Book 12). The change in flora at their southern edge seems to be due to elevation, whereas the change in flora at their northern edge seems to be due to latitude.

The “High Plains” Category

The high plains identified are The Barrens, the Plains of Sanchez, the corridor of plains, the Flats of Serpeto, and the Plains of Turia.

The Barrens (Books 17 and 18; TGV Mar 2004) are lower in elevation than the Northern Forests. The Snake and Kaiila Rivers exit the Northern Forests and flow southward. This indicates that The Barrens slope gently with their height in the north. The descriptions of The Barrens emphasize waist-high prairie grasslands and extreme temperature changes encompassing both hot dry summers and blizzards with high snow drifts. The description is that of a high plains climate zone. The major rivers disappear before reaching the Tahari, so one can conjecture that the terrain contains surprises yet to be revealed.

The Plains of Sanchez (Book 21 Page 31) are mentioned in connection with battles fought by Dietrich of Tarnburg. It is possible that the phrase refers simply to a small locale. However, it is also possible that the phrase refers to a vast area of high plains. These articles err on the side of conceptualizing the phrase as a recognition of a major region. The place is by context closely west of the Voltai between Ar and Tor. It seems not only easily conceivable but also highly probable that the Voltai, which extends in foothills for the most part, would extend in a broad high plateau stretching out in the area between Ar and Tor. It would account for the grouping of battle locations as natural territory for Tarnburg and would account for the flow of the Fayeen River system. Using this model, these plains are probably the highest in elevation category west of the Voltai. They come off of the Voltai and slope downward as they extend south into the corridor of plains southwest of Tor.

The corridor of plains (Book 4 Page 13; TGV Sep 2003) between the Plains of Turia and the northern plains slopes gently downward from north to south as the Fayeen sluggishly meanders to the Plains of Turia (TGV Oct 2003). This makes the corridor higher in elevation than the Plains of Turia.

The Flats of Serpeto (Book 21 Page 101) are mentioned as the region on which the city of Torcodino is located. It is possible that the term refers only to a local geographic feature. However, following the logic of the elevation model which acknowledges the high plains phenomenon, it is both possible and probable that the term refers to a vast plateau of steppes beginning at the northern boundary of the rainforests and extending northward until it either dips or blends into the northern low plains. Such model would account for the northern hemisphere wagon peoples and their bosk culture. It also receives support from the fact that the Ta-Thassa Cartius traverses slopes before finding the Vosk, and it might account for some details about the trade routes.

The Plains of Turia (Book 4; TGV Oct 2003) dominate the elevations in the land mass south of the Ta-Thassa Moutains and west of the subtaharian Voltai. They appear to be pervasive and should only decrease in elevation at their western and southern coasts. They slope gently with their higher elevation in the east and their lower elevation in the west, as shown by the fact that the Cartius River flows to the northwest from the Voltai and then parallels the Ta-Thassa Mountains before dropping into the rainforests.

The “Low Plains” Category

The low plains identified are the polar tundra, the northern plains, the Vosk delta, the western portion of the rainforests, and the islands. Provisionally included in this category are the northern and southern icecaps, and the subtaharian plains.

The polar tundra (Book 12) comes off of the northern forests and rapidly slopes down in elevation as it extends northward to the scythe-shaped sea that separates it from the northern polar ice cap.

The northern plains (TGV Oct 2003; TGV Nov 2003) are a combination of gentle slopes. They slope generally with the eastern part higher and the western part lower. Note in this respect that the major mentioned river systems for this region, which are the Vosk, Olni, Laurius, Verl, Issus, and Ta-Thassa Cartius, all flow from east to west. The northern plains also slope from both north and south centerward toward the Vosk. The Vosk is described as being the result of a drainage basin, which indicates that it is a low elevation place. It attracts tributary rivers from both its sides and thereby bisects the northern plains in people’s minds into northern and southern portions. The region is described mostly in terms of hills, valleys, and plains.

The Vosk delta (Book 6; TGV May 2003) is close to sea level. The mighty Vosk ceases to be a distinctive river and instead fans out into marshlands. Its western portion is in fact a vast oceanic tidal marsh.

The rainforests (Book 13) stair-step westward, decreasing in elevation in abrupt plateaus until they come to the falls and cataracts of Bila Haruma. At that point, the western middle portion is only slightly above sea level. The waters of Lake Ngao are pulled westward and tip themselves overland, creating swamplands between that lake and Lake Ushindi. Lake Ushindi then drains westward through two slow, winding rivers that empty at the Thassa coast. The rainforests also armchair from east to west so that the northern and southern boundaries remain at higher elevations than the middle areas. This is shown at the southern boundary by the fact that the Cartius proper descends from the Plains of Turia through the Ta-Thassa Mountains and works its way down to Lake Ushindi from the southeast. This is shown for the northern boundary by the Ta-Thassa Cartius first draining the Ven Highlands and then, at a point northwest of Lake Ushindi, exiting the rainforests at a higher elevation than that lake to begin working its way over sloping terrain to eventually join the Vosk.

The islands (TGV June 2003; TGV Nov 2003), other than the skerries, which are only a few feet above the ocean, are not mentioned as to elevation. The northern hemisphere island arcs appear to be volcanic, as do both Cos, with its terraced hillsides and fine soil (Book 6 Page 6; Book 10 Page 213; Book 11 Page 335), and Tyros, with its natural labyrinthine caves (Book 4 Page 124; Book 6 Page 6). They should be predicted therefore to be classified with the low plains elevation category. Information regarding Anango and Ianda (Books 13 and 25), which are equatorial without being well-located, is insufficient to make many determinations. They may be, as Earth’s British Isles, part of the mainland and only separated from the above-sea land by shallow waters. In any case, it appears proper to include all islands within this elevation category at present.

The northern and southern icecaps have not yet been described in the books. It is not known whether they consist of land covered by ice, as Earth’s Antarctica, or whether they are ice and snow over water, as in Earth’s northern polar icecap. Some 240 types of plants grow in the Arctic within 500 pasangs of the Gorean north pole (Book 12 Page 196), which may indicate that the icecap does not have a high elevation on the side facing the supercontinent. On the other hand all of those plants might exist only on the polar tundra and have nothing to do with the icecap itself. Because the icecaps border Thassa, they are provisionally included in this elevation category.

The subtaharian plains have not yet been described in the books. Because they border the Tahari and are traversed by caravans at that juncture without further comment as to elevation, they are provisionally included in this elevation category.

The “Below Sea Level” Category

The only below sea level place identified is the Tahari.

The Tahari (TGV July 2003; TGV August 2003; TGV Oct 2003) is either the remains of an inland sea or is an ancient arm of Thassa. These articles treat The Barrens, the Tahari, and the subtaharian plains as having been a continent that collided with the western landmass, forming the Voltai and turning the underwater middle section into a dry desert with a rocky area and a dune area. The borderlands must represent the highest Taharian elevations. The eastern dune region would represent the next highest, since it would have been the closest to land if the Tahari were an arm of Thassa, and the western rocky region would then be the lowest area below sea level. The consideration of the western rocky region being lower in elevation than the eastern dune region is perhaps supported by the fact that underground water seeps eastward from the Voltai to water the rocky western area but that underground seepage does not appear to account for water within the eastern dune area. The eastern dune area is visually distinctive and so must seem relatively high in contrast to the rocky area. The rocky area has its plateaus, and the books do not specify whether the tops of the plateaus are above or below sea level.

Future Articles

The concept of relative comparisons is preparatory for future articles in which some elevation estimates will be made.