Shavor Islands Glacial Complex
The Shavor Islands Glacial Complex - Shavor Ice Floes or Shavor Islands for short) - is an island chain located on Caudal A6. The Shavor Islands are best known for the sheet of glacial ice that covers and binds them together, breaking off to form long-lasting ice flows as it marches slowly outward into the sea.
Geography
The Shavor Islands are some of the only landmasses in the otherwise fully-submerged Caudal A Cube. Here, the crust of the cube layer is forced up due to the growth and shifting of large magma pockets stemming from the adjacent, geologically-active Caudal G4 face, creating an atoll. Snow accumulates atop these peaks during the wet season, but never gets warm enough to melt completely, creating layers of compounded snow and ice that flow outwards in all directions. The parts of this glacier that flow out into the lagoon become a glassy-smooth ice sheet, while those that flow outward eventually sink to the water level and become ice floes that roam the cube.
Ecosystem
The constant scrubbing action of the glaciers against the moutainside prevent most plants from growing there, though some alpine grasses, shrubs, and conifers do eke out an existence on the rocky outcroppings where the glacier doesn't touch them. Most of the region's live takes place in or around the sea; the local polar bear population sustains itself on seals, which in turn sustain themselves on fish in the surrounding waters. The Minerals eroded off of the mountains provide ample nutrients to corals, algae, and kelp that live in the ocean.
Climate
Because the Shavor Islands are located in the chilly Caudal Tesseract and adjacent to the moist Western Tesseract, their climate is cold and wet. The cube layer across the inflection layer above is almost entirely ocean, but Caudal A does have some landmasses to influence the results of circumvection in the region, nucleating storm clouds and creating rain shadows that become open expanses of ground.
Natural Resources
It is believed that there may be untapped petroleum deposits off the shore of the Shavor Islands, but these have yet to be explored both because of the unforgiving environment and because biodiesel is more economically feasible in the Manifold for a variety of reasons. Many officials in the Petalcap Vale foreign affairs apparatus also believe that, should a sizeable deposit be uncovered, it might draw the unwanted attention of Voxelia and the Coalition of Breakaway Colonies hoping to support their war machines at the expense of verdial territorial interests.
Tourism
The Shavor Islands Glacier Complex is seldom visited except on official business from the Petalcap Vale Customs Authority or Petalcap Vale University, both of whom are involved with research and conservation activities in the archipelago.
A RadNet repeater station is located atop one of the smaller mountains and must be manned to remain operational. This work is almost considered a punishment among Vale Verdials, so small groups of operators are hired from among the hardy, stoic Blackthorn Verdials instead. Insofar as the Shavor Islands can be considered to have a culture, that culture is most strongly influenced by Blackthorn social norms.
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