Basic Geography Although any one region presents a diversity of terrain and climate, Terra Nova’s overall geography is extremely stratified. The weather is slightly hotter than Earth’s and desert climates are ubiquitous. Towards the poles, the climate becomes milder, with dense vegetation covering the land. The planet’s surface can thus be broken down into several climatic zones. The Northern hemisphere consists mostly of vast forests and valleys nested between mountain peaks. Lakes and rivers testify to the presence of a deep underground water network. Vast, grassy plains and rolling hills provide a great deal of fertile land. Most of the hemisphere’s climate is temperate, thanks to the micro-climate created by the mountain ranges surrounding it. The four treacherous deserts that line the hot equatorial region of the planet are collectively known as the Badlands. Here, nature exposes the most arid yet beautiful landscapes of Terra Nova, ranging from endless dune seas, scrub deserts banded by savannahs, expanses of rock and stone and sand-swept stony plateaus. Life is harsh in the Badlands, but humans, flora and fauna have all adapted. Acting as an interface between the dry deserts of the Badlands and the more hospitable regions of both polar hemispheres, the vast grassy fields known as Savannahs are breathtaking in their savage beauty. They feature a hot but bearable climate that is home to a large number of vegetal and animal species. Finally, a deep, steamy jungle is typical of the landscapes found in the low basins of the southern hemisphere. A relative abundance of water and the hot winds blowing unimpeded from the equator give a rich tropical climate to most southern regions. Swamps are common in the South. 1.2.3 - Geology Terra Nova is about four billion years old judging from the latest geological surveys. It has limited tectonic activity and only a few dozen active volcanoes, most of them located in the Badlands’ mountain ranges (most notably in the region known as the Great White Desert). These few volcanoes can be quite dangerous, because they tend to spew out a corrosive ash known as white sand. The planet did have a violent geological past at one point, as proven by the tall peaks that ring both the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is theorized that the internal fires “powering” the planet have greatly diminished over the centuries due to a lack of decaying radioactive material in the core. Terra Nova’s diameter is 12,420 km, slightly less than Earth’s. On the other hand, Terra Nova is somewhat denser, which is why it has a surface gravity of 1.09 G. Its core is made up of molten rock, probably with an iron and nickel center similar to Earth’s own. The surface of the planet is made of tectonic plates similar to the ones of Earth. On average, they are larger than Earth’s plates, a notable exception being the northern polar regions where the intense activity fractured the continental plate into dozens of smaller ones, producing that region’s extensive mountain ranges. Although these plates are in motion, they slide extremely slowly over one another. The planet’s crust is primarily composed of silicate and iron compounds and is rich with various metals and metallic oxides. The upper layers of the crust feature several large regions with a porous texture similar to a huge sponge, producing the vast cave system known as the MacAllen network (see 1.2.4 Hydrography, below). 1.2.4 - Hydrography Over 85% of the planet’s surface is composed of solid ground. The remaining 15% is water, which is scattered in thousands of small lakes located in the two hemispheres. Shallow seas once covered much of the planet’s surface, but they have been drained millennia ago into another hydrographic system, this one below ground. An extensive cave network runs throughout the upper crust of the planet, circulating the precious water from place to place. The hydrosystem, referred to as the MacAllen Cave Network (after Jak MacAllen, the explorer who first discovered it), experiences tides and currents and boasts a wide range of unique flora and fauna. At present, very little of the cave network has been explored and mapped. Only the upper 17% of the planet’s water network has been visited by Terranovan explorers, with another 12% mapped out by small automated crawler drones. Although the mapping effort was stopped because of the war, additional funds for a renewed exploration program are curiously withheld by the various governments, with no valid explanation forthcoming. 1.2.5 - Terranovan Lifeforms Terra Nova is teeming with indigenous plants and animals and has been since its discovery. Most Terranovan life is highly compatible with Terra lifeforms, meaning humans can eat (and be eaten) by a wide variety of Terranovan fauna. Terra Nova’s plant life is very similar to Earth’s, although it tends toward much larger sizes — five meter grass-stalks, for example. Much of it resembles ferns, grasses and vines, and are somewhat primitive by Earth biological standards. Animal life is diverse, but does not completely conform to Terran divisions. The lines between insects, reptiles and mammals tend to blur — at least to casual observers. Many Terranovan creatures exhibit a characteristic three-canine maw (two lower canines and a central upper one). Some introduced Earth species have found ecological niches, especially in the South where mosquitoes, wallabies and even cats thrive.
