Black Spine Mountains
This mountain range splits the origin island running north-south, and are the result of crustal uplift and volcanic eruptions. Made of basalt there is a fair amount of iron, gold, silver, and other elemental metal veins to be found. The mountain range collects moisture from the Dapha sea and Arolend sea and has a considerable amount of rainfall on the western sides, providing for lush plains and large river valleys to west. The peaks range from 7,000 to 12,000 feet and have several glaciers and alpine lakes and valleys. These mountains are older around 60 million years old so there has been more erosion and there are several passes and gaps to make it from north to south. Some crops can be grown in the valleys, and there is some areas that can be used for grazing.
Geography
Ecosystem
The water cycle comes from westerly and south-by-south westerly driven clouds that as they are pushed up the slopes and foothills of these mountains start to rain or drop large snow falls. In the winter some locations can get up to 9'-0" of snowfall. Over the last 80,000 years this has built up thick glaciers on some mountains which have melts in the spring and winter providing fresh water all summer, filling lakes, feeding rivers and stream that carve valleys between the peaks and deposit course soils that are nutrient rich an provide for trees, grasses and flowering plants.
However, as the moisture is scrapped from the clouds almost no moisture reaches east, making a vast desert. The eastern side of the mountains are generally rockier, sparsely dotted with bushes and trees. These ranges have deep chasms from rapid snow melts every few decades. There are many dry stream beds and flats that are locations for flash floods every couple of decades.
This ecosystem supports many varieties of birds, small rodents, small lizards. Larger fauna include mountain goats, mountain lions, deer, moose, bears, wolves and bison in the lowlands. This habitat can also support some monstrous creatures like giants, trolls, rocs, some dinosaurs, and some dragons also have lairs in these mountains.
Localized Phenomena
There are several volcanoes in this range, only a handful are active in modern times. The ash from these volcanoes provides nutrients in the valleys and the surrounding foothills.
These mountains are about 350 miles from the location of the arc ship, the strange energies and corrupted cyphers and relics have mutated animals, monsters, and machine into strange bio-mechanical monsters that may wander out of the desert and seek shelter or victims in the mountains, so travelers should be wary for unexpected and strange monsters that may lurk here.
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