ADDENDUM: TURIA

By Hersius and Xerxex

INTRODUCTION

From time to time, geography articles address particular problems in detail as addenda to previous work. This article relates to the September 2003 offering concerning the southern plains. In this addendum we discuss the problem of locating Turia and why we changed our estimate of the southern coast from 44 degrees south latitude to around 50 S.

The map artistry is a modern marvel wrought by Xerxex. This Addendum marks the first presentation of one of the Xerxex maps to the world.

TURIA AND THE SOUTHERN PLAINS

The southern plains region is bounded on the east by the subtaharian Voltai. These articles locate the Voltai along the prime meridian and give a total longitudinal width of about 5 degrees. The southern plains are bounded on the north by the Ta-Thassa Mountains. These articles locate the Ta-Thassa within the 5 degrees between 15 S and 20 S. Culturally, the Cartius marks the northern boundary of the Wagon Peoples of the southern plains. We have located the Cartius from its origin point in the Voltai to its paralleling of the Ta-Thassa range to its point of entry into and through the Ta-Thassa range to become part of the rainforests. Thassa coastlines mark the western and southern extents of the southern plains. These articles estimate the western coast at an average of some 45 W. In the earlier article, I used 44 S for the southern coast while stating that with the sharper planetary axis, the southern coast could be extended a bit. One has to allow for the area to have existed between its present location and the southern polar cap and then migrate northward to fuse with the main continent, so there must be limits on how far south it can extend even with a sharper planetary axis. The Turia problem has resulted in our extending the estimated latitude of the southern coast to some 50 S.

Turia is a heavily fortified city with no suburbs or other adjacent communities. It is described as being part of an intricate system of trade routes but the other connection points are not specified. Western coastal shipping generally stops at the Ta-Thassa Mountains. Some trade along the Cartius with Schendi as the ultimate dstination might be implied. Book 13 Page 104. It appears, however, that most Turian commerce outside of the southern plains must be with or through northern inland places. Turia maintains an outpost, known as Turmas, at the far southeastern corner of the Tahari. There is a Northern Salt Line which presumably runs between Torcadino and Kasra. Book 10 Pages 32, 238, Book 21 Page 101. There may therefore be a Southern Salt Line running between Kasra and Turia. At any rate, Turia is the big noise of the southern plains, to such an extent that it is known as the Ar of the South. Book 13 Page 10.

The problem is where to locate Turia and what the implications are of that location for the dimensions of the southern plains. Turia is presumably in the eastern half of the southern plains, as crossing the Cartius was the method that Cabot took toward that city. The problem is that Turia was built over an underground source of water and is at least 1000 pasangs from any significant ground water. Book 4 Page 182, Book 8 Page 43. Using the planetary size postulated by these articles, 1000 pasangs encompasses 12 degrees of latitude. Wagon People winter between the Cartius and the Ta-Thassa Mountains. Book 4 Pages 11, 55, 58, 266. If the Cartius parallels the contours of the Ta-Thassa range with some space for the Wagon Peoples to winter between the river and the mountains, say at between 21 S and 22 S, then Turia must be farther south than 34 S. For ease of mapping, 35 S may be used. If 35 S is used, then the southern coast must be farther south than 47 S. If one shifts the Ta-Thassa range a smidge north, then the original posit of these articles that the southern plains extends to around 44 S remains reasonable. We are now, however, preferring to extend the southern coast to around 50 S in order to give the placement of Turia more wiggle room. Climate considerations constrain entertaining ideas of extending the southern plains beyond 50 S.

1000 pasangs of longitude at 35 S encompass 15 degrees of longitude. Turia has to be at least 1000 pasangs from the Voltai runoff, and the Voltai foothills probably extend to at least 3 W. Turia is therefore approximated at 20 W or a degree or two to the west, with that location being about as close as it can get to the passage of plains that serves as its commercial lifeline. We are therefore locating Turia in the vicinity of 35 S and 20 W.

Recall that with the day divided into 20 hours, Gorean time zones are 18 degrees apart. If Turia remains between the prime meridian and 18 W, it is in the same time zone as Ar. If it is around 20 W, it is in a different time zone. The location of Turia so far south supports the online joke that one's virtual location is set somewhere north of Turia. An interesting consequence of locating the southern coast at some 50 S relates to the comment that a snowy wind may blow for 2500 pasangs. Book 4 Page 58. 30 degrees of latitude from 20 S to 50 S cover slightly over 2500 pasangs. This permits southern arctic winter winds to scour the plains for 2500 pasangs from the southern coast to the Ta-Thassa Mountains. At those latitudes, the distance from the Voltai to the western coast also has an average of around 2500 pasangs. The idea that the wind can blow for 2500 pasangs is therefore like saying that the snowy wind can blow unimpeded from one end of the southern plains to the other.

The Xerxex map of the southern plains shows all of this graphically and dramatically. Click here to view. The Voltai runs down the eastern edge to the ocean and curves at the ends as do plate collision mountain ranges on Earth. The bulk of the land is a high plain with low plains at the coast. The plains are composed of both flat stretches and hilly country. Recall that Turia itself is located in a region of low hills and valleys according to Book 4. The Ta-Thassa range borders the plains on the north and shows the weathering indicative of its older age. It runs from the eastern plains to the sea, as it should. Its higher coastal elevations signal the extent of most shipping lanes. The Cartius originates in the Voltai and proceeds generally northwest, paralleling the Ta-Thassa Mountains while providing wintering grazing lands far north of Turia between the river and the mountains. The Cartius then crosses the mountains at the appropriate longitude to begin its journey through the rainforests. The Lower Fayeen flows sluggishly along the corridor between the uplifts created by the Voltai range, the Ven Highlands, and the Ta-Thassa range to join with the Cartius. There is plenty of room for Tarl Cabot to have avoided contact with anyone on the Fayeen during his journey southward and to have crossed the Cartius without having had to cross the Fayeen as well. His entry point puts him near the Ta-Thassa range and pointed toward Turia, which is where Book 4 places him as he enters the southern plains. Turia is located far from everywhere and central to everywhere. There is plenty of space for the Wagon Peoples to have their separate territories and ranges and to enjoy their individual access to Turia.

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