Part III: The Physical World
To continue building up this brave new world; we need a discussion of the Physical World. The center of the action takes place between Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. Each Geographical Region is given a new name:
Climate of the Atlantean Lands
The climate of the Lands of New Athens and Corinth is broadly representative of the humid continental type, which prevails in the northeastern United States, but its diversity is not usually encountered within an area of comparable size. Masses of cold, dry air frequently arrive from the northern interior of the continent. Prevailing winds from the south and southwest transport warm, humid air, which has been conditioned by the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent subtropical waters. These two air masses provide the dominant continental characteristics of the climate. A third great air mass flows inland from the North Atlantic Ocean and produces cool, cloudy, and damp weather conditions.
Nearly all storm and frontal systems moving eastward across the continent pass through or in close proximity to New York State. Storm systems often move northward along the Atlantic coast and have an important influence on the weather and climate of Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. Frequently, areas deep in the interior of the state feel the effects of such coastal storms.
The winters are long and cold in the Plateau Divisions of the state. In the majority of winter seasons, a temperature of -25° or lower can be expected in the northern highlands (Northern Plateau) and -15° or colder in the southwestern and east-central highlands (Southern Plateau). The Adirondack region records from 35 to 45 days with below zero temperatures in normal to severe winters.
The summer climate is cool in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and higher elevations of the Southern Plateau. The New York City area and lower portions of the Hudson Valley have rather warm summers by comparison, with some periods of high, uncomfortable humidity. The remainder of New York State enjoys pleasantly warm summers, marred by only occasional, brief intervals of sultry conditions. Summer daytime temperatures usually range from the upper 70s to mid 80s over much of the State, producing an atmospheric environment favorable to many athletic, recreational, and other outdoor activities.
The Land of Many Waters (Finger Lakes Region): The site of Corinth. The Finger Lakes' region is bordered by the Sea North (Lake Ontario), the Andirondack Mountains to the East, and Lake Tonawanda and the West Sea (Lake Erie) at the west. To the South is Barbarian Lands.
The Land of Many Waters is said to be a major battleground between Typhon and Zeus Thunderer. During the battle, Typhon raked the land, creating the Land of Many Waters. However, Poseidon Earthshatterer filled the scars with water, creating the Finger Lakes. While Demeter blessed the land with great fertility.
In all actuality the Finger Lakes were modified by glaciers, but were not simply gouged out by glacial action, as often asserted. The present lakes were preglacial stream valleys or earlier lakes. Glaciers modified the terrain somewhat, but more critically: when the ice retreated, deposits left behind dammed the valleys, impounding water. The deep valley south of Syracuse might have been another Finger Lake, had the glacier's terminal morain been deposted farther north.
The Finger Lakes are situated on the northern edge of the Appalachian Upland. They now drain northward to Lake Ontario. The southern ends of the lakes are characterized by steeper hills and glacial hanging valleys which are tributaries that drop steeply to the lake, often with waterfalls. Taughannock Falls, with a drop of 214 feet, is one of the highest waterfalls east of the Rocky Mountains. Taughannock Falls State Park, Fillmore Glen, and Watkins Glen are especially scenic examples of such waterfalls.
Most of the area was originally forested with oak, hickory, maple, chestnut, ash, hemlock, and beech trees, but the Iroquois maintained, by annual burning, the land between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes as prairie, with herds of bison, normally thought of as a western animal. Today the Finger Lakes area is still known for fishing and hunting. Winter sports are also popular.
The Land of Many Waters is the land's largest wine producing region. Numerous wineries and vineyards are centered around Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, and Keuka Lakes. Because of the lakes' great depth, they provide a lake effect to the lush vineyards that flank their shores. Retaining residual summer warmth in the winter, and winter's cold in the spring, the grapes are protected from disastrous spring frost during grape formation, and early frost before the harvest.
The Land of New Athens (Niagra Falls and Lake Alexander [Lake Tonawanda]): New Athens was settled near the present day Niagra Falls. The Niagra River, known as the Eridanos River to these people, is a slow moving river. It's almost like a strait. However, once one approaches the falls, the river speeds up and spills over the falls.
Lake Alexander (Tonawanda) is bordered by a "Narrow Neck of Land" between Lake Ontario and itself. The "Narrow Neck" itself an enscarpment, part of the Niagra enscarpment. Part of New Athens is located on what would become Goat Island. The other parts are nestled to the southwest and southeast of the Eridanos River. The Eridanos is Mythologized to be slow simply because Hermes cursed Eridanos to be slow, since the riparian god challenged Hermes to a race. Eridanos won the race, but Hermes cursed him for his pride and hubris in boasting that he had beaten Hermes.
The North Sea (Lake Ontario):The North Sea was carved out of soft, weak Silurian rocks by the Wisconsonian ice age glacier, which expanded the preglacial Ontarian River valley of approximately the same orientation. The material that was pushed southward was piled in central and western New York in the form of drumlins, kames, and moraines, which reorganized entire drainage systems. As the glacier retreated from New York, it still dammed the present St. Lawrence valley, so that the lake was at a higher level. This state is known as Lake Iroquois. During that time the lake drained through present-day Syracuse, New York into the Mohawk River. The old shoreline that was created during this lake stage can be easily recognized by the (now dry) beaches and wave-cut hills 10 to 25 miles (15 to 40 km) south of the present shoreline.
When the glacier finally melted from the St. Lawrence valley, the outlet was below sea level, and the lake became for a short time a bay of the ocean. Gradually the land rebounded from the release of the weight of about 6,500 feet (2000 m) of ice that had been stacked on it. It is still rebounding about 12 inches (30 cm) per century in the St. Lawrence area. Since the ice left that area last, that is the area where the most rapid rebound still is occurring. This means that the lake bed is gradually tilting southward, inundating the south shore and turning river valleys into bays.
The Olympian Mountains (The Adirondack Mountains): The Olympian (Adirondack) mountain range is located in the northeastern part of New York that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties.
The mountains are often included by geographers in the Appalachian Mountains, but they are geologically more similar to the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. [citation needed] They are bordered on the east by Lake Champlain and Lake George, which separate them from the Green Mountains in Vermont. They are bordered to the south by the Mohawk Valley and to the west by the Tug Hill Plateau, separated by the Black River. This region is south of the St. Lawrence River.
The mountains consist primarily of metamorphic rocks, mainly gneiss, surrounding a central core of intrusive igneous rocks, most notably anorthosite, in the high peaks region. These crystalline rocks are a lobe of the Precambrian Grenville Basement rock complex and represent the southernmost extent of the Canadian Shield, a cratonic expression of igneous and metamorphic rock 880 million to 1 billion years in age that covers most of eastern and northern Canada and all of Greenland. Although the rocks are ancient, the uplift that formed the Adirondack dome has occurred within the last 5 million years — relatively recent in geologic time — and is ongoing. The dome itself is roughly circular, approximately 160 miles (260 km) in diameter and about one mile (1.6 km) high. The uplift is almost completely surrounded by Palaeozoic strata which lap up on the sides of the underlying basement rocks. [1]
The mountains form the drainage divide between the Hudson watershed and the St. Lawrence River/Great Lakes watershed. On the south and south-west the waters flow either directly into the Hudson, which rises in the center of the group, or else reach it through the Mohawk River. On the north and east the waters reach the St. Lawrence by way of Lakes George and Champlain, and on the west they flow directly into that stream or reach it through Lake Ontario. The tiny Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, nestled in the heart of the High Peaks area between Mt. Marcy and Skylight, is considered to be the source of the mighty Hudson. The most important streams within the area are the Hudson, Black, Oswegatchie, Grasse, Raquette, Saranac and Au Sable rivers.
The region was once covered, with the exception of the higher summits, by the Laurentian glacier, whose erosion, while perhaps having little effect on the larger features of the country, has greatly modified it in detail, producing lakes and ponds, whose number is said to exceed 1300, and causing many falls and rapids in the streams. Among the larger lakes are The Fulton Chain, the Upper and Lower Saranac, Big and Little Tupper, Schroon, Placid, Long, Raquette and Blue Mountain. The region known as the Adirondack Wilderness, or the Great North Woods, embraces between 5000 and 6000 square miles (13,000 km² and 16,000 km²) of mountain, lake, plateau and forest.
Mining is a significant industry in the Olympians. The region is rich in magnetic iron ores. Other mineral products are graphite, garnet, pyrite, and zinc ore. There is also a great quantity of Mithral (Titanium).
To continue building up this brave new world; we need a discussion of the Physical World. The center of the action takes place between Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan. Each Geographical Region is given a new name:
Climate of the Atlantean Lands
The climate of the Lands of New Athens and Corinth is broadly representative of the humid continental type, which prevails in the northeastern United States, but its diversity is not usually encountered within an area of comparable size. Masses of cold, dry air frequently arrive from the northern interior of the continent. Prevailing winds from the south and southwest transport warm, humid air, which has been conditioned by the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent subtropical waters. These two air masses provide the dominant continental characteristics of the climate. A third great air mass flows inland from the North Atlantic Ocean and produces cool, cloudy, and damp weather conditions.
Nearly all storm and frontal systems moving eastward across the continent pass through or in close proximity to New York State. Storm systems often move northward along the Atlantic coast and have an important influence on the weather and climate of Long Island and the lower Hudson Valley. Frequently, areas deep in the interior of the state feel the effects of such coastal storms.
The winters are long and cold in the Plateau Divisions of the state. In the majority of winter seasons, a temperature of -25° or lower can be expected in the northern highlands (Northern Plateau) and -15° or colder in the southwestern and east-central highlands (Southern Plateau). The Adirondack region records from 35 to 45 days with below zero temperatures in normal to severe winters.
The summer climate is cool in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and higher elevations of the Southern Plateau. The New York City area and lower portions of the Hudson Valley have rather warm summers by comparison, with some periods of high, uncomfortable humidity. The remainder of New York State enjoys pleasantly warm summers, marred by only occasional, brief intervals of sultry conditions. Summer daytime temperatures usually range from the upper 70s to mid 80s over much of the State, producing an atmospheric environment favorable to many athletic, recreational, and other outdoor activities.
The Land of Many Waters (Finger Lakes Region): The site of Corinth. The Finger Lakes' region is bordered by the Sea North (Lake Ontario), the Andirondack Mountains to the East, and Lake Tonawanda and the West Sea (Lake Erie) at the west. To the South is Barbarian Lands.
The Land of Many Waters is said to be a major battleground between Typhon and Zeus Thunderer. During the battle, Typhon raked the land, creating the Land of Many Waters. However, Poseidon Earthshatterer filled the scars with water, creating the Finger Lakes. While Demeter blessed the land with great fertility.
In all actuality the Finger Lakes were modified by glaciers, but were not simply gouged out by glacial action, as often asserted. The present lakes were preglacial stream valleys or earlier lakes. Glaciers modified the terrain somewhat, but more critically: when the ice retreated, deposits left behind dammed the valleys, impounding water. The deep valley south of Syracuse might have been another Finger Lake, had the glacier's terminal morain been deposted farther north.
The Finger Lakes are situated on the northern edge of the Appalachian Upland. They now drain northward to Lake Ontario. The southern ends of the lakes are characterized by steeper hills and glacial hanging valleys which are tributaries that drop steeply to the lake, often with waterfalls. Taughannock Falls, with a drop of 214 feet, is one of the highest waterfalls east of the Rocky Mountains. Taughannock Falls State Park, Fillmore Glen, and Watkins Glen are especially scenic examples of such waterfalls.
Most of the area was originally forested with oak, hickory, maple, chestnut, ash, hemlock, and beech trees, but the Iroquois maintained, by annual burning, the land between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes as prairie, with herds of bison, normally thought of as a western animal. Today the Finger Lakes area is still known for fishing and hunting. Winter sports are also popular.
The Land of Many Waters is the land's largest wine producing region. Numerous wineries and vineyards are centered around Seneca, Cayuga, Canandaigua, and Keuka Lakes. Because of the lakes' great depth, they provide a lake effect to the lush vineyards that flank their shores. Retaining residual summer warmth in the winter, and winter's cold in the spring, the grapes are protected from disastrous spring frost during grape formation, and early frost before the harvest.
The Land of New Athens (Niagra Falls and Lake Alexander [Lake Tonawanda]): New Athens was settled near the present day Niagra Falls. The Niagra River, known as the Eridanos River to these people, is a slow moving river. It's almost like a strait. However, once one approaches the falls, the river speeds up and spills over the falls.
Lake Alexander (Tonawanda) is bordered by a "Narrow Neck of Land" between Lake Ontario and itself. The "Narrow Neck" itself an enscarpment, part of the Niagra enscarpment. Part of New Athens is located on what would become Goat Island. The other parts are nestled to the southwest and southeast of the Eridanos River. The Eridanos is Mythologized to be slow simply because Hermes cursed Eridanos to be slow, since the riparian god challenged Hermes to a race. Eridanos won the race, but Hermes cursed him for his pride and hubris in boasting that he had beaten Hermes.
The North Sea (Lake Ontario):The North Sea was carved out of soft, weak Silurian rocks by the Wisconsonian ice age glacier, which expanded the preglacial Ontarian River valley of approximately the same orientation. The material that was pushed southward was piled in central and western New York in the form of drumlins, kames, and moraines, which reorganized entire drainage systems. As the glacier retreated from New York, it still dammed the present St. Lawrence valley, so that the lake was at a higher level. This state is known as Lake Iroquois. During that time the lake drained through present-day Syracuse, New York into the Mohawk River. The old shoreline that was created during this lake stage can be easily recognized by the (now dry) beaches and wave-cut hills 10 to 25 miles (15 to 40 km) south of the present shoreline.
When the glacier finally melted from the St. Lawrence valley, the outlet was below sea level, and the lake became for a short time a bay of the ocean. Gradually the land rebounded from the release of the weight of about 6,500 feet (2000 m) of ice that had been stacked on it. It is still rebounding about 12 inches (30 cm) per century in the St. Lawrence area. Since the ice left that area last, that is the area where the most rapid rebound still is occurring. This means that the lake bed is gradually tilting southward, inundating the south shore and turning river valleys into bays.
The Olympian Mountains (The Adirondack Mountains): The Olympian (Adirondack) mountain range is located in the northeastern part of New York that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties.
The mountains are often included by geographers in the Appalachian Mountains, but they are geologically more similar to the Laurentian Mountains of Canada. [citation needed] They are bordered on the east by Lake Champlain and Lake George, which separate them from the Green Mountains in Vermont. They are bordered to the south by the Mohawk Valley and to the west by the Tug Hill Plateau, separated by the Black River. This region is south of the St. Lawrence River.
The mountains consist primarily of metamorphic rocks, mainly gneiss, surrounding a central core of intrusive igneous rocks, most notably anorthosite, in the high peaks region. These crystalline rocks are a lobe of the Precambrian Grenville Basement rock complex and represent the southernmost extent of the Canadian Shield, a cratonic expression of igneous and metamorphic rock 880 million to 1 billion years in age that covers most of eastern and northern Canada and all of Greenland. Although the rocks are ancient, the uplift that formed the Adirondack dome has occurred within the last 5 million years — relatively recent in geologic time — and is ongoing. The dome itself is roughly circular, approximately 160 miles (260 km) in diameter and about one mile (1.6 km) high. The uplift is almost completely surrounded by Palaeozoic strata which lap up on the sides of the underlying basement rocks. [1]
The mountains form the drainage divide between the Hudson watershed and the St. Lawrence River/Great Lakes watershed. On the south and south-west the waters flow either directly into the Hudson, which rises in the center of the group, or else reach it through the Mohawk River. On the north and east the waters reach the St. Lawrence by way of Lakes George and Champlain, and on the west they flow directly into that stream or reach it through Lake Ontario. The tiny Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, nestled in the heart of the High Peaks area between Mt. Marcy and Skylight, is considered to be the source of the mighty Hudson. The most important streams within the area are the Hudson, Black, Oswegatchie, Grasse, Raquette, Saranac and Au Sable rivers.
The region was once covered, with the exception of the higher summits, by the Laurentian glacier, whose erosion, while perhaps having little effect on the larger features of the country, has greatly modified it in detail, producing lakes and ponds, whose number is said to exceed 1300, and causing many falls and rapids in the streams. Among the larger lakes are The Fulton Chain, the Upper and Lower Saranac, Big and Little Tupper, Schroon, Placid, Long, Raquette and Blue Mountain. The region known as the Adirondack Wilderness, or the Great North Woods, embraces between 5000 and 6000 square miles (13,000 km² and 16,000 km²) of mountain, lake, plateau and forest.
Mining is a significant industry in the Olympians. The region is rich in magnetic iron ores. Other mineral products are graphite, garnet, pyrite, and zinc ore. There is also a great quantity of Mithral (Titanium).
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