Dotharan Mountains
Spanning from the Tealastrian Sea all the way to the Southern Reaches, the Dotharan Mountains are one of the longest mountain ranges in the Known World. The mountains split Felora in two, leading to disparate environments and civilizations on either of its slopes.
Geography
The Dotharan Mountains span almost the entire continent of Felora from north to south. They are broken into two main ranges, with several ridges branching out from the main range. In Northern Felora, the range is bounded to the north by the Tellerin Strait and the eastern edges of the Tealastrian Sea. To the west is the Dotharan rainforest basin, and to the east is the Ekoran Steppe. At its furthest north is the volcanic Mt. Nanodà, and there are eight more major volcanos along the range, although only Mt. Nanodà has been active in the last 200 years.
The Jùlhè Flanì separates the northern and southern halves of the range, and connects Inner Felora with Lìrna. Much of the water for Soren comes from the central portion of the range on either side of this pass, of which the tallest mountain in the range, Mt. Tèlbraì, provides the bulk. The southern Dotharan Mountains are bounded to the east by Lìrna, and to the west by Inner Felora and Grayàvöra. At their furthest reaches, the southern ranges separate western and eastern Hegla.
Many of the northern range's valleys have some of the most fertile soil on the continent, although it is rocky and often requires intense reshaping of the land in order to be arable. Nonetheless, it is a breadbasket for many eastern Feloran Orcish Tribes, as well as a supplementary source for some Feloran and Dotharan communities. The range is also home to the sources of most known rivers in Felora, with only the Vhaelhest and Charsst Mountains providing any meaningful amount elsewhere.
Ecosystem
Due to the continental length of the range, a complete description of the ecosystems of the range is impossible. The Dotharans constitute a complex mosaic of more than 130 ecosystems that Feloran and Dotharan scholars have sorted into seven categories:
- Dotharan tundra
- Rainforests, cloud forests, and deciduous forests
- Humid plateaus
- Arid plateaus
- Inter-Dotharan valleys
- Salt flats
- Glaciers
Ecosystem Cycles
The section south of the Jùlhè Flanì is dry and cool, the central section is humid. The northern Dotharans are typically rainy and warm, with an average temperature of 18 °C (64 °F) in Dothara. The climate is known to change drastically in rather short distances. Due to the altitude, latitude, and unprotected expanses that dot the range, one can experience all seasons in a single day: freezing temperatures during the night (Winter) give way to a mild warmth in the early morning (Spring) which then climbs to sweltering heat by noon (Summer), only for late afternoon winds to bring crisp cool air (Autumn).
Localized Phenomena
Mt. Nanodà is one of the world's tallest volcanos, and for 75% of the year, in this mountain range's highest region, you can visually deduce which way is north, because the northern faces of the mountains are tinged grey with Mt. Nanodà's soot embedded in the snowpack.
Climate
The climate in the Dotharans varies greatly depending on latitude, altitude, and proximity to the sea. Opposite of the humid Dotharan slopes are relatively dry slopes in most of northern Jollì, eastern Grayàvöra, and Hegla. Temperature, atmospheric pressure and humidity decrease in higher elevations. At their lowest levels, the northern Dotharans are a tropical rainforest or wet, humid foothills with cloud forests on their western slopes, or semi-arid to arid steppes on their eastern slopes. Salt lakes pepper the Dotharans in the central part of the continent. Further south, the Dotharans are arid and dry, even becoming glacial in their furthest reaches. The peaks of the Dotharans are of course, barren and rocky, and the highest covered in snow. The snow line depends on the location.
Fauna & Flora
The Dotharans are home to a large and diverse array of animal species. As well as a huge variety of flora, the Dotharans contain many different animal species. Vaì̯ke, a camel-like species that the Felorans, Heglans, and Vitari have domesticated for their wool, is native to the range's alpine plateaus. Alpacas, indigenous to similar regions, are domesticated livestock kept by many Feloran cultures for their meat. The diversity of animals in the Dotharans is high, with hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles, fish, and thousands of species of birds.
Since they extend from the Northern subcontinent of Felora, all the way down to the Southern Reaches, the Dotharan range cuts across several natural and floristic regions. Rainforests and tropical dry forests encircle much of the northern Dotharans, especially in the Dothar Rainforest and inter-Dotharan valleys of in the Inner Felora. Along with several Interdotharan Valles, they are typically dominated by deciduous woodland, shrub and cacti vegetation, reaching the extreme in the slopes near the virtually lifeless Kunza Desert.
Natural Resources
Deposits of tin, copper, silver, and gold can be found up and down the Dotharan mountains, and the Feloran Empire extracted thousands of tonnes of these minerals with its vast control of almost 2/3 of the range during the zenith of its power. The ample forests of the mountains are used for building materials by many Feloran cultures. Lastly, the potato is believed to been selectively bred from wild roots originating form the Dotharans. Wild varieties of Feloran tubers grow in diverse soils and climates, from the dry plains of Lìrna, to the inter-Dotharan valleys, up to altitudes of 4,200 meters above sea level.
History
According to Ancient Feloran texts held in the Library of Lumora, the religion of the Orcs of the Early Imperial held the northernmost peak as the oldest of a family of sisters, who lead the mountains onto the new continent. This perhaps reflected a great migration of the ancient southern tribes to Felora. The early Felorans named this mountain Nanodà, for Orc-sister. Some of the ancient Orcish myths, which survive in oral form among the elders of the D'jo, warn that one day, Nanodà will lose her temper.
As the Feloran people expanded the frontiers of their Empire, the Dotharans represented the single greatest barrier to their eastward and southward expansion. After the legendary Feloran Orcish explorer Möt Yèu̯traŋ discovered the region of Lìrna through the Jùlhè Flanì pass, Feloran imperialist ambitions sought more passes through the range, discovering four more depressions enabling the construction of roads into Ekora and Lìrna.
Alternative Name(s)
Mountains of the Elder Sisters
Type
Mountain Range
Location under
Included Locations
Related Reports (Secondary)
