THE RAINFORESTS COAST

By Hersius
with research assistance by slipper{MW}

Introduction

This article familiarizes the TGV readership with the coastal geography of the Gorean rainforests. The interior regions were described in TGV January 2005.

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

The Coastal Rainforests

These articles place the equatorial coast at an average of 45 W. The coast is depicted as being more-or-less north-south in orientation, with the coastline changing abruptly north of the equatorial coast. For these articles, the coastline encompasses roughly 18 N to 18 S.

The coastline in this region has two major cities, Schendi and Bazi. Schendi is the largest regional port and has a population of around one million. Page 115. Bazi is famous for spices and for having been the center of a plague. Pages 117.There is mention of towns up and down the coast as well. Pages 34, 109, 115.

Of the four major river systems known in the region, only one reaches the coast. The Ua ends at Lake Ngao, the Cartius ends at Lake Ushindi, and the Thassa Cartius most likely leaves the rainforests at some 18 N at a point slightly to the west of the westernmost longitude of Lake Ushindi. It joins the Vosk near the eastern tip of the Vosk delta. Only the Kamba-Nyoka system reaches the coast.

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.

The region is associated with two important islands, Anango and Ianda, and people have had major problems trying to locate them. Anango is an island. Pages 16, 100. It is located so far south as to be beyond the knowledge of most Goreans except as a remote and exotic place. It is a jungle place. Book 20 Page 130. At the same time, it is a major trade island, and there is almost no trade south of the Ta-Thassa Mountains. Book 6 Page 6. Therefore, it seems most appropriate to place Anango slightly north of the Ta-Thassa Mountains. Ianda is a merchant island north of Anango populated by black-skinned people. Page 133. Both Anango and Ianda are located close to the coast. Book 6 Page 7. They are mentioned together as far southern islands. Book 6 Page 137. In an earlier article I had voiced the possibility that the equatorial islands might be volcanic like the skerries. It seems more probable to me that the islands are, as Xerxex has portrayed them, high points of land that are part of the continent and simply separated by a narrow channel of water, as the British Isles are properly parts of the European continent that are above intervening water.

Scenic Description

I find that the imagination is better than writing when it comes to envisioning a tropical coastline. Close your eyes for a moment and enjoy your imagination, then when you are ready, come back to the background portion of this article.

Background

Schendi is “somewhat south of the equator”. Page 116. Lake Ushindi seems to be due east of Schendi, and Lake Ngao and the intervening swamp seem to be due east of Lake Ushindi. That places them all at about the same latitude. These articles locate Schendi and the two lakes at about 10 S. Because the Ua River winds, the latitude of Lake Shaba is not known. Since the Thassa Cartius drains the northern latitudes of the region, these articles prefer to place Lake Shaba south of the equator and southeast of Lake Ngao, placing it in the neighborhood of 15 S.

People have had major problems trying to locate the port city of Bazi. On Earth, “Bazi” is a Congolese word meaning “outside”. On Gor, Bazi is a Merchant port. Bazi is associated with tea and with equatorial spices. Book 7 Page 86, Book 10 Page 37, Book 12 Page 206, Book 19 Page 332. This indicates an equatorial locale but does not itself specify which side of the equator Bazi is on. Bazi is mentioned with Schendi. Page 233, Book 8 Page 43, Book 10 Page 7. They are mentioned as being southern port cities. Book 7 Page 59. These articles interpret that to mean the southern hemisphere and therefore locate Bazi south of the equator as well. See also Book 6 Pages 137-138. The fact that Bazi is mentioned with Anango strengthens that decision. Book 25 Page 156. Bazi is north of Schendi. Page 117. These articles place Bazi at around 3-5 S. That provides some distance for villages to exist south and east of Schendi. Page 117, Book 11 Pages 325-326.

Most published maps place the Kamba and Nyoka Rivers far too widely apart. The Nyoka enters the east end of Schendi Harbor, which faces south. The Kamba is located north of the Nyoka and empties directly into Thassa. At 50 pasangs out at sea, one cannot see land but can smell the spices of Schendi, and at 40 pasangs out the waters from the Kamba and Nyoka fan into each other and are distinguishable from the ocean. Pages 98, 99, 108, 109. This means that the Kamba and Nyoka cannot be separated by much distance at the points where they respectively meet the coast. Since the waters fan out into the ocean, one can deduce that the mouths of the rivers are more than 40 pasangs apart, yet when you recall that a degree of latitude encompasses some 84 pasangs, it begins to appear that the rivers are maybe at best only 1 degree of latitude apart when they reach Thassa. On a globe, that makes them barely distinguishable.