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THE VOSK DELTA By Hersius and Jalav with research assistance from firemyst~{Marauder}~fg~ and k’arra INTRODUCTION The initial two articles in this Geography Department discussed the Gorean landscape in terms of latitudes and longitudes as a way of coming to terms with the immensity of the virtual landmass. Those articles provide a basis for locating the various cultural geographic areas that serve as background for the sagas that span the series. Norman defines areas in terms of their landforms, climate, and underlying geologic structures, and he shows the effects of human habitation on these areas. This and subsequent articles will identify an area and then showcase it by describing what it looks like and giving background information. A call for contributors for future collaboration on other areas will conclude each article. The purpose of the articles is simply to show where the various places are on Gor and to show why each place is a special place to be. THE VOSK DELTA When I give the opinion that the Vosk River delta lies in the 50 degrees north latitude range, give or take a few degrees, it is only an approximation. Its real meaning is that if you were to look for the Vosk delta, that is the latitude neighborhood where you should begin looking. The Background section below contains the deductions leading to the suggestion that the Vosk delta lies along the 50 degrees parallel with its western margin at perhaps 45 degrees west longitude and its eastern margin in the neighborhood of 33 to 36 degrees west longitude. The Vosk delta is the western terminus of the mighty Vosk River. The Vosk is some 40 pasangs, which is 28 miles, wide for most of its course. Book 1, p.42. It originates in the northern part of the Voltai Mountain range. The Vosk terminates for practical purposes near the town of Turmas, alternative spelling Turmus, where the Thassa Cartius River joins the Vosk. Turmas is on the north side of the Vosk, and the Thassa Cartius joins the Vosk from the southern bank. West of Turmas, the conjoined river spreads out over a triangular floodplain characterized by an almost unimaginable expanse of marshes that are navigable only by canoe or similar conveyance. Book 13, pp.16, 26, Book 23, p.424. The delta extends from Turmas to the Tamber Gulf, and the Tamber Gulf joins Thassa, the ocean. The distance from east to west is some 600 to 800 pasangs. Book 24, pp.93, 94. The delta is deduced to be over 200 pasangs, or some 140 miles, wide as it curves gently at the Gulf. The delta is claimed by the city of Port Kar. Book 6, pp.5, 6, 8, 9, 14, 17. Port Kar is first introduced as being a city in the Vosk delta. Book 1, p.115. It turns out to be the only city in the delta, and it is located along the Tamber Gulf, facing the gulf with the delta at its back and sides. Port Kar appears to lie slightly north of the midway point along the delta coast. The nearest point of solid land from Port Kar is some 100 pasangs to the northwest of Port Kar. Book 6, p.6. This means that the delta extends further to the south and southwest, where the nearest coastal city of any size is Brundisium. Book 24, p. 376. Port Kar can therefore be thought of as being roughly on the same parallel as the Vosk River. Trade with the delta is accomplished through Port Kar on the western side and Turmas on the eastern side. The topography of the delta is that of a flat, almost treeless wetlands with no known solid landmass above waterlevel. The delta marshlands spread out like a fan in hundreds of constantly shifting shallow channels. The changing channels make the delta into a trackless wilderness of rushes, rence, sedge, and marsh vines. The combined force of the conjoined rivers creates a fresh water pressure strong enough to alter the entry channels every season and to hold back the salt water for roughly half the length of the delta. The marsh waters become salty as one approaches the Tamber Gulf, and the western part of the delta is a gigantic tidal marsh. The silt that is continuously deposited into the Tamber Gulf by the delta makes the Gulf shallow and muddy. Book 6, pp.1, 5. The land north of the delta is a plains described as being open territory, which has a fairly treeless connotation. Book 6, p.104. The land south of the delta is a plains with trees, and trees in fact appear inside the delta toward its southern edge. Book 24, p.338. The Gorean rence plant grows taller than a human height and covers the delta. Rence is so pervasive throughout the delta that the Vosk delta is described as being a vast rence delta. Book 11, p.248. Rence has almost universal uses. Rence is used in construction and for fuel. It is processed into cloth and paper. Rence is carved into musical instruments, tools, and toys. Rence provides food and is made into a staple starchy paste similar to manioc. It is made into porridge and cakes or is eaten as a paste. Rence seeds and pith are fermented into beer. Rence is harvested by cutting. Apparently most of the harvest happens during the summer, but fall and winter cuttings also occur. Book 6, pp.7, 18, 25, 27, 28, 41, 44, 45. With rence being such an important commodity, it is not surprising that the human occupation of the delta would commercialize it. The majority of the people who live in the delta are rence growers. Rence growers live on artificial islands made of interwoven rence stems. The islands measure no more than 250 feet in length. The islands are about 9 feet thick, with 3 feet of that being above water. They need to be repaired as they come apart or rot away. The islands float and must be tethered to rence roots. They can be poled to new locations. The island communities are usually between 50 and 60 inhabitants. Communities in the delta are isolated from each other but come together at shifting locations for festivals. Book 6, pp.13, 14, 17, 45. At least some of the rence island villages have names derived from the names of the village leaders. The villages of Ven and Tanrum are specifically mentioned. Book 24, p.351. The World of Gor reference center confirms that these are indeed rence island villages. The following is a fan-generated description of what it might be like to be in a canoe and look around. The wind, playing games in your hair, ruffles its edges then moves on to sweep across a sea of rence creating its own ripples and waves. Everpresent, all pervasive. Carrying the fresh, pure scent of salt water mingled with the smell of rotted rence plants. It is everywhere, this staple of the Delta. Bowing its head, or reaching for the sky above, mingled with vines and in places so matted it seems to be solid ground. Yet, there is little of that here. What ground there is tends to shift and move beneath your very feet, some of it carefully obscuring the patches of quicksand that can swallow a man if he isn't careful. Everywhere, the buzzing call of the marsh gant. A low, hootish sound that echoes back to the ear. Beneath the canoe of bundled rence plants there is water laced with determined roots that seep into the softer mud below. Occassionally, a fin cuts through, only to disappear again and leave the eye to wonder. The broad back of a turtle glimpsed as it paddles by. A needle fly, known as the sting fly in some places, buzzes past lazily. The intense heat of the day making even the insects lethargic. It was oppressive, lifted only by the salt and idle stir of rot-tinged breezes. It was upon these meager winds, high above, that the leathered wings of a giant Ul swooped low then ascended to sky once more. Ubar of this place, little more than a maze of waterways, a shifting hodgepodge of sand and mud, and of course, always, the rence. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The World of Gor reference center confirms that the Vosk River has its origin in the northern part of the Voltai Mountain Range. The Voltai Mountains range extends from just below the Thentis Mountains, believed in these articles to be in the 55 degrees to 60 degrees north latitude range, southward to the northwestern corner of the Tahari, deduced in these articles to be roughly 32 degrees north latitude. Discounting the southern foothills that border the southern plains, if the Voltai range proper is located between 54 and 33 degrees, inclusive, then it occupies 22 degrees of latitude. The southern part could be considered to be the 7 degrees from 33 to 39 degrees, the central part, where Ar is located, could be considered to occupy the 8 degrees from 40 to 47 degrees, and the northern part could be considered to be the 7 degrees from 48 to 54 degrees. If the Olni River has its origin in the Voltai above the Vosk, then the Olni and Vosk will both have to be accounted for within the 48 to 54 degrees range, and the effect will be cramped. The Vosk would then probably fit in the 49 degrees range, which is the parallel defining most of the border between the United States and Canada. If the Olni owes its origin to waters from the Thentis Mountains, then the Vosk can be thought closer to the 52 degrees range. In either event, placing the Vosk in the neighborhood of 50 degrees north latitude, give or take a few degrees, would seem to be true to the Books. The Vosk delta appears to be more or less due west from the origin point of the Vosk. This places the Vosk delta also at 50 degrees north latitude, more or less. It is a mistake to think of that latitude range in terms of the United States and Canada, as the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America are cold places. On Gor, the major ocean current in the northern hemisphere by the western coast of the supercontinent flows upward in a counterclockwise direction from warmer waters. The western coast above the equator is significantly heated by that current all the way to Torvaldsland. Book 9, p.55. In addition, the Northern Forests might block some of the polar wind. There is a saying on the high plains of North America to the effect that there is nothing standing between us and the north pole except four strands of barbed wire, but with the Gorean Northern Forests being as massive as they are, folks by the Vosk cannot count that among their complaints. Additionally, the winds might heat up as they blow over the northern plains, ending up being warmed by the time they reach the Vosk delta. It is in keeping with the Books to think of the temperatures of France, Italy, and the Mediterranean when you think of the delta. In the previous article on longitude, I chose to see the Thassa coast as lying along the 45 degrees west longitude meridian, give or take a little due to the irregularities of the coastline. Using this estimate, Port Kar would also lie roughly at 45 degrees west longitude. Given my estimate that Gor is slightly smaller than Venus, there are roughly 850 pasangs between each 10 degrees of longitude at the Gorean equator. The distance from the prime meridian to the 45 degrees point along the equator is roughly 3,800 pasangs. As the lines of meridian come closer together as one approaches the poles, the actual surface distance between the lines of longitude decreases. The distance from the prime meridian to the 45 degrees point at 50 degrees north latitude is only roughly 3,000 pasangs. The prime meridian is represented by the Voltai range, which is the origin place of the Vosk River. The distance from the origin of the Vosk to Port Kar, then, can be estimated to be some 3,000 pasangs. Because a pasang is 0.7 of a mile, this is some 2,100 miles. If the coast is at roughly 45 degrees west longitude, and if the distance between the prime meridian and the coast at 50 degrees north latitude is roughly 3,000 pasangs, then there are 1,000 pasangs between every 15 degrees of longitude at that parallel. This puts 1,000 pasangs between 30 degrees and 45 degrees west longitude. In Book 24, a party some 200 to 300 pasangs into the delta estimates that it is 400 to 500 pasangs from the gulf. Taking the larger figures, the delta may be some 800 pasangs in length from east to west. 1,000 pasangs every 15 degrees means that there are some 100 pasangs of surface length for every 1.5 degrees of longitude at that latitude. 800 pasangs would therefore cover some 12 degrees of longitude. The Vosk delta would therefore begin at roughly 33 degrees west longitude. Using the lower figures, it would cover some 9 degrees and start at roughly 36 degrees west longitude. The exact coordinates and dimensions do not matter, for the element of conjecture always remains. What is important is that the map image give the picture, from east to west, of the Vosk River coming out of the northern part of the Voltai Mountains and running westward until it finally combines with the Thassa Cartius River and then empties into a massive delta, beyond which are Port Kar and the Tamber Gulf, with Thassa just beyond the Gulf. The islands of Cos and Tyros lie some 400 pasangs due west of Port Kar. The ocean beyond those islands is unknown. Book 5, p.305, Book 6, pp.106, 139, Book 11, p.248. The mental map can picture the delta as occupying anywhere from roughly a fifth to roughly a third of the distance between the start of the Voltai and the coast. The initial impression that Tarl Cabot had of the extent of the delta was that it covered hundreds of square pasangs. Book 6, p.5. That impression was later corrected to thousands of square pasangs. Book 13, p.26, Book 24, p.176. Tarl Cabot was a master of understatement. A triangular surface area 800 pasangs long and at least 200 pasangs wide at its base contains at least 80,000 square pasangs. That amounts to at least 56,000 square miles, which makes the delta comparable in size to Iowa or twice the size of Ireland or over half the size of New Zealand. A number of hints at the plate tectonic history of Gor are given by geographic descriptions throughout the series. For reasons that will be developed as this Geography Department progresses, we think that a number of plates that comprise the supercontinent of Gor can be identified. One of those possible plates extends northward from the Ta-Thassa Mountains and westward from the Voltai Mountains. We think of this as the Northern Plate. This plate is elevated in the east, as shown by the mountain range, westward water courses, and other evidence to be covered in future articles. It dips downward at the western edge, as shown in part by the existence of the delta. The indications are that this plate is rising in the east and lowering offshore at what we think of as the Western Thassa Plate. The important point for this article is that the delta provides one of the important clues to understanding Gorean planetary geology. CALL FOR WRITERS AND RESEARCHERS Future articles will highlight other areas. People who wish to work with me to provide Book research, heartfelt descriptions, and important background information relating to the area are encouraged to contact me at hersiusofthentis@yahoo.com. We wish to call attention to the following websites.
http://www.angelfire.com/nf/Gorean/Rencers.html#vd http://www.geocities.com/delphius2002/id60.htm |
