Gorgandra
Located in the northern hemisphere of Alterra this continent is mostly covered in a thick ice cap, but the lower latitudes arc down to temperate latitudes. Gorgandra is divided into east and west. East Gorgandra is all arctic climate that has a short summer with long days, and long dark winters. The arctic zone has temperature fluctuation over long time periods, 2500 years ago there was an ice land bridge between Gorgandra and the Yanki Peninsula. West Gorgandra extends from the west coast of the Mede sea and and to a series of ancient mountains and hills that serve as the distinction between east and west. Both east and west are large marsh permafrost basins, one emptying into the Torimah Sea and the other into the Mende Sea.
Geography
East Gorgandra
Starting from the Arctic Sea Coast on the east, there are a high plains that end in cliffs. These plains are rocky and covered in grasses, scrub, moss, and the occasional tree. These highlands range from 200' to 1200' across a 300 mile stretch from the Torimah Sea to the icecap. This forms the east side of a basin. The Torgash Tiga is a marshy permafrost bog that is frozen in the winter and turns into marshland in the summer and floods feeding three great river systems. The cracked highlands are made of sandstone and have been carved over the eons into a great canyon system. Rocky hills separate the other two river systems and are probably the remains of ancient mountains a billion years old, worn down by advancing and treating glaciers over the millennia. The west end of East Gorgandra is another series of round hills extending from the ice cap south, and also likely the bases of ancient mountains. South of these hills is another high wasteland of rock and scrub and sandstone.West Gorgandra
This is another great basin that drains away ice cap melt into the Mende sea and the Getyen Ocean. The northern part is permafrost marsh that floods in the summer months, but there are higher areas that form fertile plains and that resist flooding. This mostly empties into the Mende sea. The Mende sea is a freshwater black sea. The Mende sea freezes over during the winter. Occasionally the sea can have icebergs into summer. The areas around it are excellent for farming even in the cold climate. Much of the soil around the Mende Sea is infused with volcanic ash and is nutrient rich. The northwest coast of the continent is a stretch of volcanic mountains called The Dragon Teeth. The west coast of the Mende Sea is considered Mende Minor a separate sub-continent. The southeast coast of the Mende Sea are the Dragon Claws, another set of volcanic mountains. South of these mountains is a large sand desert with oasis and some dry riverbeds that can flood in spring.Ecosystem
Located mostly in the arctic circle of the planet this area is dominated by the seasons. Winter lasts for about 200 days out of a 540 day year. These winters are dark and cold, and buffeted by snows. There is about 2 hours of dim daylight during the winter, and temperatures are usually subzero. Spring is short, but the surface melt begins to open up the rivers and the ice flows cause floods depositing minerals and nutrients to
the marsh and the fertile grasslands on slightly higher terrain bordering the rivers and marshes. This means despite the rough and rugged terrain of this continent there is abundant fresh water. Summers will have 11 hrs of sunlight and last about 200 days and some crops can get two growth cycles in with the sunlight, warmth and water.
The Minwolli brings warm currents up to the southern coast of Gorgandra and mixes with the cold water from the Arctic Sea and flows down into the Torimah Sea. This can bring whales and fish north and keeps that coast free of icebergs. This also brings warmer air heated by the deserts and this current so summers can be warm well into autumn. nutrients carried out to sea feed plankton and other microscopic organisms and draw large schools of fish which draw other sea predators.
The Mende Sea is very deep, it is legend that it is over 2500' deep and is cold all year. it supports an incredible amount of diverse life because of the amount of nutrients being dumped into it. Fishing is abundant and large predators like Gar, Beluga, giant salmon, sturgeon and some other monsters can be found in this freshwater sea. The Mende Sea is a hazardous body of water; when storms roll across it the waves can crack ships in half, and icebergs can be another hazard.
Ecosystem Cycles
There are two groups of creatures that inhabit this rough continent, Winter active and Summer active. Many of the summer active creatures like bears, hibernate in the winter. There are winter active monsters that prefer the cold will make burrows in the permafrost and hibernate in the summer, and have adapted to hunting in the winter. Most of the heard beasts like moose, deer, and bison are active all year and their large numbers provide food for both. Wolves, tigers and a few other monsters are active all year, or migrate to warmer areas during the winter.
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