Albian River and the Islands

Emerald City is situated at the broad mouth of the Albian River where it flows out into Malory Bay. The Albian was so named by early American explorers because of the number of cascades and whitewaters further upriver, which make it navigable only by small craft. In the area near Emerald City, the Albian is actually quite broad and is much deeper, although still fairly swift-flowing. Its pebbled beaches and sandy shoals were among the first sites for building the new settlement that became E.C.
Five sets of islands dot the river from the Southern Shore outskirts of Emerald City to Malory Bay: The cluster of the Stepstone Islands, where the Albian widens out after its passage across The Atlas Mountains; Angel Island, now primarily a nature preserve; Fortress Island, home to the Fortress Island State Penitentiary; Council Island, the most populated and center point for the river spanning Bay Bridge; and the three Gateway Islands located at the northern tip of Malory Bay.
In addition to the Bay Bridge, ferry services carry passengers and vehicles between the northern and southern shores of the Albian River on a daily basis.

Geography

COUNCIL ISLAND

In Hekawi Indian tradition, Council Island was a neutral meeting place, suited for settling disputes between tribes, but otherwise prohibited as a place where only spirits dwelled. The Hekawi said as much to American settlers, who largely ignored them, seeing the island like any other piece of land. It is noteworthy that several buildings on Council Island suffered disasters, including a trading outpost swept into the river during a terrible storm in the late 1800s and a luxury resort hotel built in 1920 that burned to the ground just weeks after it opened. Emeraldites remained undaunted and any talk of “the Council Island Curse” was considered just that: talk and idle superstition.
Council Island saw some slow and steady growth as a place for private island estates for those wealthy enough to ferry back and forth between the island and the peninsula or reclusive enough not to care (and willing to have all their goods brought in by boat). The post-World War II construction boom changed all that with the building of the Bay Bridge, an ambitious span across the Albian, anchored in the center at Council Island. Following the bridge’s opening, the island was just an off-ramp away from the rest of central Emerald City. Now, Council Island has a population of several thousand in an area of about 12 square miles.

ANGEL ISLAND

The small, lone Angel Island is set aside as a bird sanctuary by the National Audubon Society to protect various species that nest and live in the wooded areas and rocky beaches of the island, including a number of sheltering sea birds and inland raptors. Parts of the island are open to the public as parkland, accessible by ferry from the mainland and the other islands, although other areas are closed off to protect certain habitats and species. Angel Island has been threatened with funding problems in the past, which nearly resulted in the property being sold, but fundraising improved greatly during the Emerald City tech boom in the 1990s and the island sanctuary is once again financially stable.

THE STEPSTONE ISLANDS

A set of six islands fill much of the Albian River Narrows, flowing out of a canyon between the peaks of the Atlas Mountains. Here the rougher waters of the Albian from upriver smooth out as they flow quickly into the widening riverbed towards Malory Bay. From east to west the Stepstone Islands are: Breakwater Island, Westward Island, Clearwater Island, Midway Island, Clam Island, and Orchard Island. The islands’ collective name comes from how they cluster like a set of stepping stones across part of the river.

FORTRESS ISLAND

A small, rocky island in the middle of the Albian River, between Council and Angel Islands, it is off-limits to the public and is home to the Fortress Island State Penitentiary. The only legal way to access the island is to take one of the prison ferries, which make frequent runs from the ferry port in South Shore.

THE GATEWAY ISLANDS

The northern border of Malory Bay is defined by Hook Point Peninsula and the three islands known collectively as the Gateway Islands, standing as they do at the entrance of the bay. The northern two are Pelican Rock to the east and Gullstone to the west, with smaller Nodell Island situated to the south in between them, named for explorer and trapper William Nodell.
The Gateway Islands are relatively small and rocky, with scrub pines and similarly hardy local plant life. The northern two islands earned their names from the large number of sea birds which nest there: pelicans on the western shores of Pelican Rock, and seagulls virtually everywhere.

Type

Estuary / River delta

Location under

Emerald City