GEOGRAPHY OF THE REPUBLIC OF PERILO

Geographically Perilo can be divided into four regions, each distinguished by their own geographical and geological features.  Each region has characteristic terrain, patterns of human development, and flora and fauna.  These regions are:

BORDERS

The poorly surveyed northern frontier of the Republic lies in the northern desert, known as the Great Waste.  The western boundary of Perilo is defined by the Big Muddy River to the point where it turns west along the Northern Massif; the border then bisects the pass in the Northern Massif known as The Gap, to the Great Waste.  The eastern boundary is defined by the August-Picot line, surveyed in 1907.  On the southern boundary, the Republic claims territorial waters to 100 miles from the shoreline of the Republic at lowest low tide, including from its barrier islands.

THE NORTHERN DESERT

The Great Waste is a sandy desert extending across the width of the country north of the Northern Massif and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.  Water is naturally scarce in the region, and the small villages along the main north-south railroad line and the Transnational Highway are only sustained through deep wells that tap the Colorado aquifer.  The desert is predominantly flat, although dune fields develop from time to time.  The Great Waste is marked by large sand and dust storms that develop during the summer and fall.  Rainfall is typically under 0.5 inches a year, and much of the construction in villages is mud brick.

THE NORTHERN MASSIF

The Northern Massif is composed of a single broad range on the west and the Northern Massif and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to its north on the east of the country.  The Massif is geologically young, and its southern edge is marked by the Xochimilco Fault, which has displaced laterally as much as 400 yards in the last 5000 years.  Between the Northern Massif and the Sangre de Cristo range lies the Valley of Smoke, named by early settlers for the smoke and ashfall generated by Mount Moriah and two other smaller active volcanoes.  The floor of the valley is marked by 12 cinder cones of dormant volcanoes and extensive volcanic dikes.  The Valley is a rich agricultural area, with ancient irrigation systems that bring snowmelt from the Northern Massif still operating.  Coal has been discovered and is being mined on the south side of the Sange de Cristo range.  The Province of the North includes the Northern Massif and the Great Waste.

THE PIEDMONT

The Piedmont extends southward from the Northern Massif to approximately 100 miles north of the coast.  The Piedmont is marked by gently rolling low hills, mature watercourses, and rich soil.  The eastern side of the Piedmont is marked by the Great Forest, a dense ancient forest.  Although logging interests have exerted considerable pressure to allow widespread harvesting of the Forest, this has been resisted by the aboriginal peoples who inhabit the forest, and is not generally seen as being in the national interest.  As a result logging is permitted only at a rate that allows natural regrowth to maintain a steady state.  West of the Haw River, the land was never as densely forested, and the land is widely used for a variety of agricultural production.  The Intercontinental Railroad crosses the Piedmont.  The National Capital Region, with the capital city Glencoe, the Province of the Northwest, and most of the Provinces of the Southwest and the East are located in the Piedmont.

THE COASTAL PLAIN

Approximately 100 miles north of the coastline lies a line of hills which appear geologically to be the remains of an ancient line of very tall sand dunes.  Known as the Ossippee Ridge (named after the aboriginal people who settlements were constructed on the ridge), this marks the boundary between the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.  The Coastal Plain has sandy soils, and is largely forested by species of Pine trees and short bushes.  On the west the various channels of the Big Muddy River pass through its delta with swampy and tidal lands heavily covered by reeds and marsh grasses.  Offshore oil development has put some pressure on this environment, but tight enforcement of government regulations has minimized damage to the storm surge absorbing capability of the delta.  East of the delta offshore barrier islands protect the coast line on both sides of Cape San Blas.  On the east side of the coast, the Haw River empties into Portsmouth Bay.

RIVERS

On the western border, the Big Muddy is navigable for its entire course.  Its major tributary, the Blue River, is navigable to Glencoe.  The Haw River is navigable to the first rapids approximately 100 miles inland, which mark the lower boundary of Lake Stanley. 

MAPS