Glass Desert
Geography
Vast dunes of yellow sand interspersed with shards of shattered black obsidian deposited from the nearby Hellmouth volcano, the region is nigh inhospitable for all but the most hardy of animals and peoples. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, passages in and out are few and dangerous. Water can be found at rare oases, but they seem to appear and disappear with every major storm.
Ecosystem
Flora is rare and mostly in the form of surface cacti. Animals have adapted to the low water environment and dangerous weather, having some method to shelter under the sands when violent storms kick up.
Localized Phenomena
The high amount of obsidian shards embedded in the sands result in deadly windstorms. At high speeds, shards of obsidian cut like blades, killing unprotected creatures in only a few agonizing minutes of exposure.
Climate
Perpetually boiling during the day and near freezing at night, the glass desert is a land of extremes, and stays that way throughout the year.
Fauna & Flora
Flora
Mostly comprised of surface cacti, the flora enjoy a few weeks of growth near a oasis, before a dust storm rips them apart and scatters their seeds through the desert, waiting for an oasis to appear where they land.Fauna
Animals are scant, but the ones that manage to eke out an existence in the blazing heat are leagues tougher than creatures found in more temperate locales. Soft-skinned creatures employ the habit of partially burying themselves in sand to protect themselves from the dust storms, while carapaced or hard-scaled creatures can endure some level of activity in a sandstorm.Natural Resources
What cacti can be found is typically nutritious and considered a delicacy. With a sieve and good fortune, one may find just barely enough seeds to feed themselves buried in the sand. Water is a rarity, and comes from fleeting Oases that shift in location with every sandstorm.
Buffeted by thousands of years of violent sandstorms, the surrounding mountain ranges are constantly eroded, and prospectors often scour the surfaces for exposed ore. Enough can be found to be profitable for a nomadic business, so long as one can stand the constant dangers.
Tourism
Most come to the desert to visit the city of Ushad. There lies one of the largest trade hubs of rare goods in the world, and houses the Wizarding University. While exceedingly dangerous, there is no better place for ambitious merchants, wizards, and scientists of all kinds to ply their trade.
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