[THIS, really helped me when working on a world climate map, may help with some insight on what goes where](https://worldbuildingpasta.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-apple-pie-from-scratch-part-vib.html)
Hey folks! I posted a little mapmaking project of mine two years ago, which is here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/g516x0/wip\_veritas\_a\_topographic\_map\_my\_first\_serious/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/g516x0/wip_veritas_a_topographic_map_my_first_serious/)
You don't have to read the original post to understand this one.
I've come back to this project after leaving it fallow for a while to try again. This time, I've nearly halved the size of the continent in hopes of making a more concise land for future worldbuilding and story writing. The big northern mountains were directly traced from the Peruvian Andes, so I scaled the continent to match the original mountains.
**My goal:** To position this continent for the most interesting **climates and biomes!**
**Constraints:**
* The continent must be surrounded by a large, **Pacific-ish ocean**. For my story, the continent must be difficult to get to by sailing ship. If there are "nearby" continents, they must be inhospitable for one reason or another. Nearby islands are OK.
* I'd like to position the continent on an **earth-like** planet such that it has diverse biomes and large seasonal variations. As a small, oceanic continent, this is difficult, but I'd like to at least try.
* The area with the **isthmus** should be hospitable to civilization and include both open and forested biomes. It is the area with the most interesting coastline, so I want my civilizations to focus there.
* You may modify the rotation and position of the continent, as well as the height of the mountains, but the **coastlines** should remain unchanged. I got excellent feedback last time about the topography and I'll be revising it later. Yes, I haven't placed any lakes yet. :relaxed:
* I am unconcerned with tectonics, at least for the sake of this post. Frankly, tectonics is so flexible that I can probably contrive an explanation for nearly any landform. I suppose a deep trench off the northern coast is inevitable though.
* For ease of conversation, I'd like to keep it in the northern hemisphere. That's where I live, which makes it easier for me.
* Don't worry about the fjords up north. I can remove them if the continent gets rotated or moved.
* Do whatever you want with deep-ocean currents!
**Image explanations:**
In the first image, I've selected what seems like an interesting position on earth, apart from the too-closeness of America and Asia. The thick-gray graticules on the overlayed image are in 5 degree increments, more visible on the second equirectangular image.
# Analysis:
**Currents.**
If Veritas was in a place like the south-Pacific ocean, there would be no equivalent of the North Pacific Current hitting its shore. I believe this is because the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is so strong it creates a huge gyre. If I want to keep that current around 40 latitude, I'd probably scoot the equivalents of North America and Asia further away, but still let them block an Arctic Circumpolar.
Even without that change, do you folks think things like the East and West Australia currents would form because of this continent, despite no major currents hitting it broadside?
If I want to make an area wetter or dryer, I could craft the deep-sea shape to guide sub-surface currents where I like.
**Winds**
In this first sample position, the southern part of Veritas would be in the doldrums, giving it a tendency towards aridity. This is moderated by the small size, meaning the true deserts would probably only form in small patches behind rain shadows, with these growing slightly in size further inland.
The northern half of the continent would be hit by North-East to Eastern prevailing winds giving the isthmus a good chance of rain. Those small inlet-seas would stay moderately warm, increasing the chance for local wet weather systems and very moderate climates. Maybe too moderate?
The southernmost point is totally Florida. Maybe a bit dryer because of the lack of a South America to channel warm water up to it. I mean, look at the picture: Hawaii is right there.
To view the continent overlayed on Google Earth, use this .kmz:
[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXhapJchIMLKvlebZKeAaB-bh1RM5ody/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXhapJchIMLKvlebZKeAaB-bh1RM5ody/view?usp=sharing)
Remember, if you move the latitude of the image much, you'll need to resize it so the 500 mile scale line remains about the same length.
If you want the ocean currents I used to show in Google Earth Pro, use this .kmz: [http://mw1.google.com/mw-ocean/ocean/media/oia/files/Depthscurrents.kmz](http://mw1.google.com/mw-ocean/ocean/media/oia/files/Depthscurrents.kmz)
Happy climate imagining!
Have the North Pacific current over the land mass at N40 dip due to heating/cooling from the land which could change the climate along the mountains. Consider having a deep ocean trench parallel to the mountains in the north. That could make it harder for boats to land along that shoreline.
check out https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/perpetual-ocean.html
[THIS, really helped me when working on a world climate map, may help with some insight on what goes where](https://worldbuildingpasta.blogspot.com/2020/05/an-apple-pie-from-scratch-part-vib.html)
Thanks for this! I'm running through it right now on my world.
Hey folks! I posted a little mapmaking project of mine two years ago, which is here: [https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/g516x0/wip\_veritas\_a\_topographic\_map\_my\_first\_serious/](https://www.reddit.com/r/mapmaking/comments/g516x0/wip_veritas_a_topographic_map_my_first_serious/) You don't have to read the original post to understand this one. I've come back to this project after leaving it fallow for a while to try again. This time, I've nearly halved the size of the continent in hopes of making a more concise land for future worldbuilding and story writing. The big northern mountains were directly traced from the Peruvian Andes, so I scaled the continent to match the original mountains. **My goal:** To position this continent for the most interesting **climates and biomes!** **Constraints:** * The continent must be surrounded by a large, **Pacific-ish ocean**. For my story, the continent must be difficult to get to by sailing ship. If there are "nearby" continents, they must be inhospitable for one reason or another. Nearby islands are OK. * I'd like to position the continent on an **earth-like** planet such that it has diverse biomes and large seasonal variations. As a small, oceanic continent, this is difficult, but I'd like to at least try. * The area with the **isthmus** should be hospitable to civilization and include both open and forested biomes. It is the area with the most interesting coastline, so I want my civilizations to focus there. * You may modify the rotation and position of the continent, as well as the height of the mountains, but the **coastlines** should remain unchanged. I got excellent feedback last time about the topography and I'll be revising it later. Yes, I haven't placed any lakes yet. :relaxed: * I am unconcerned with tectonics, at least for the sake of this post. Frankly, tectonics is so flexible that I can probably contrive an explanation for nearly any landform. I suppose a deep trench off the northern coast is inevitable though. * For ease of conversation, I'd like to keep it in the northern hemisphere. That's where I live, which makes it easier for me. * Don't worry about the fjords up north. I can remove them if the continent gets rotated or moved. * Do whatever you want with deep-ocean currents! **Image explanations:** In the first image, I've selected what seems like an interesting position on earth, apart from the too-closeness of America and Asia. The thick-gray graticules on the overlayed image are in 5 degree increments, more visible on the second equirectangular image. # Analysis: **Currents.** If Veritas was in a place like the south-Pacific ocean, there would be no equivalent of the North Pacific Current hitting its shore. I believe this is because the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is so strong it creates a huge gyre. If I want to keep that current around 40 latitude, I'd probably scoot the equivalents of North America and Asia further away, but still let them block an Arctic Circumpolar. Even without that change, do you folks think things like the East and West Australia currents would form because of this continent, despite no major currents hitting it broadside? If I want to make an area wetter or dryer, I could craft the deep-sea shape to guide sub-surface currents where I like. **Winds** In this first sample position, the southern part of Veritas would be in the doldrums, giving it a tendency towards aridity. This is moderated by the small size, meaning the true deserts would probably only form in small patches behind rain shadows, with these growing slightly in size further inland. The northern half of the continent would be hit by North-East to Eastern prevailing winds giving the isthmus a good chance of rain. Those small inlet-seas would stay moderately warm, increasing the chance for local wet weather systems and very moderate climates. Maybe too moderate? The southernmost point is totally Florida. Maybe a bit dryer because of the lack of a South America to channel warm water up to it. I mean, look at the picture: Hawaii is right there. To view the continent overlayed on Google Earth, use this .kmz: [https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXhapJchIMLKvlebZKeAaB-bh1RM5ody/view?usp=sharing](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hXhapJchIMLKvlebZKeAaB-bh1RM5ody/view?usp=sharing) Remember, if you move the latitude of the image much, you'll need to resize it so the 500 mile scale line remains about the same length. If you want the ocean currents I used to show in Google Earth Pro, use this .kmz: [http://mw1.google.com/mw-ocean/ocean/media/oia/files/Depthscurrents.kmz](http://mw1.google.com/mw-ocean/ocean/media/oia/files/Depthscurrents.kmz) Happy climate imagining!
Have the North Pacific current over the land mass at N40 dip due to heating/cooling from the land which could change the climate along the mountains. Consider having a deep ocean trench parallel to the mountains in the north. That could make it harder for boats to land along that shoreline.