Üdürïlop Forest

The Üdürïlop Forest is a large forest that occupies a central region within the Shattered Earth. It is fed by the Ëhašó River to its west and the Žófëtaš River to the north, as particulates from both rivers are taken up by the wind and dispensed on the Forest as precipitation. Due to this relatively sparse means of irrigation, the Üdürïlop Forest is one of the sparsest on the continent of Ürŋimrhýn, and its trees have evolved to become extremely hardy and drought-resistant. Nonetheless, the physical region it occupies is the third-largest on the planet, behind the Gunerifa and Volain Forests.

Location and Geography

The land delineated as the Üdürïlop Forest is easily recognizable through the uplifted terrain on which it stands. This is a product of the tree's thick roots, which are major players in energy and fat storage. The land that is uplifted is roughly ovalish; although it is bounded on the west by the Ëhašó River, the other directions feature only low-lying grasses and shrubs and (presumably) could be spread into by the Forest given certain ecological conditions. The present inability of the Forest to spread is due primarily to the morphology of the specific types of trees within the Forest itself, all of whom reproduce through outgrowths from existing roots. These new trees only emerge if the host tree has enough excess resources to support it for at least the first few years, but the sparseness of the means by which the Forest is sustained rarely make such chances possible.

The extent of the Forest constrains it to an area of around 18.8 million kilometers. On the west, the soil quickly becomes inundated with rocks due to the Aragnia Mountains, and the marshy ecosystem of the Mountains themselves do not suit the drought-hardy nature of the trees. Between these two geographic landforms is the Ëhašó River, which carves a groove into the earth that is around 2-3 meters below both of the uplifted terrains. As for the other borders, at its closest extent, the border gets within 750 kilometers of the Žófëtaš River to the northeast, and similarly, the southern edge of the Forest gets to around 1,000 kilometers from the southeastern coast of the Shattered Earth.

Quite paradoxically, the terrain of the Forest does slightly dip when it nears the Ëhašó River. A minor factor that causes this is, of course, erosion, but the more dominant factor is simply the evolution of trees that contact the water, as their easy access to water renders the usually-drought-resistant character unnecessary. These specially-adapted trees thus possess greatly reduced root and trunk sizes, the former of which results in a much less packed soil and thus a lower depth overall.

Natural Features

The Üdürïlop Forest is the