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Apprentice Greytalker
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Thu Dec 11, 2008 9:52 am
Mountains of Oerth
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A question for any who know..... What/Where are the tallest mountains (known) on the planet of Oerth?
All info is appreciated.
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Apprentice Greytalker
Joined: Feb 16, 2004
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Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:47 am
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"The highest peaks in the Flanaess are the Crystalmists, the massive midsection of a range that divides the Flanaess from the rest of Oerik" - LGG page 142.
You asked Oerth and not just Flanaess. It's possible that somewhere someone defined taller mountains in the fiction, but I just don't know.
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Journeyman Greytalker
Joined: Jun 13, 2008
Posts: 184
From: Houston Texas
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Thu Dec 11, 2008 12:28 pm
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Other then some vague descriptions found about the Crystalmists on the Flaness I don't think that there has ever been anything definitive discussing the topic in any area outside that one small section of the continent. 90% of the game world is left "undefined".
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Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 26, 2004
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From: Ullinois
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Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:06 pm
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That's a very good topic and well worth researching into, hmm.
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GreySage
Joined: Aug 03, 2001
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From: Michigan
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Thu Dec 11, 2008 5:54 pm
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Judging from the Dragon Annual #1 map, the mountains in far western Oerik that run through Gigantea up into Hyperborea look the most massive. You can't really judge height from that map, but it's certainly the thickest range. It looks taller on this map too, but that's not really fair because it's a combination I made of several different maps.
But yeah, I would guess that that nameless range (Gigantean mountains?) is the highest range on Oerth.
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Master Greytalker
Joined: Jan 05, 2002
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From: Sky Island, So Cal
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Mon Dec 15, 2008 8:17 pm
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Width is certainly a good first approximation of height, since it relates to the nature of the impact that formed / is forming the mountains.
Another factor is time. Young mountains are still being raised faster than they are eroded. Old mountains have stopped growing, and are being eroded away.
We can guess the crystalmists are still young, since at least the Hellfurnaces portion still has active volcanoes. It is an open question about the Gigantian Mountains - are they young as well, and gigantically high? Or are they old and weathered, and so have a wide base but low tops?
On earth, the Himalayas are currently the highest (land) mountains, at about 7 miles above sea level. They are young (only 50 million years) and still growing.
But there have been higher mountains. Some estimates say that the Appalachans were once three times what the Himalayas are now! Mountains 20 miles high are difficult to imagine, but they may have been so. Alas, 300 million years of erosion have worn them down to less than a mile in all but the highest peaks.
Perhaps Maldin would care to comment? I hear he knows a lot about orogenous zones...
Kirt
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Mon Dec 15, 2008 9:08 pm
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| Kirt wrote: |
Perhaps Maldin would care to comment? I hear he knows a lot about orogenous zones...
Kirt |
Geologists are stimulated by the strangest things... 
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Grandmaster Greytalker
Joined: Nov 07, 2004
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From: Mt. Smolderac
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Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:29 am
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| Kirt wrote: |
| We can guess the crystalmists are still young, since at least the Hellfurnaces portion still has active volcanoes. |
Probably true, but with the caveat that the vulcanism is most likely due to non-natural influence.
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Master Greytalker
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Tue Dec 16, 2008 3:47 pm
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| smillan_31 wrote: |
Probably true, but with the caveat that the vulcanism is most likely due to non-natural influence. |
Yes, but that holds for any part of the argument. The presumption of a naturalistic explanation is a first pass, but who knows how old the Oerth is...it could have been made 10000 years ago, as is, with mountains already in place.
Is there something specifically that says the Hellfurnaces are non-natural? Gate to the Plane of Fire sounds vaguely familiar, but for the entire length of the chain?
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Grandmaster Greytalker
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From: Mt. Smolderac
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Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:26 pm
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| Kirt wrote: |
| smillan_31 wrote: |
Probably true, but with the caveat that the vulcanism is most likely due to non-natural influence. |
Yes, but that holds for any part of the argument. The presumption of a naturalistic explanation is a first pass, but who knows how old the Oerth is...it could have been made 10000 years ago, as is, with mountains already in place.
Is there something specifically that says the Hellfurnaces are non-natural? Gate to the Plane of Fire sounds vaguely familiar, but for the entire length of the chain? |
That's true. As far as the non-natural origin of the Hellfurnaces that may just be implied. "Orbs of Dragonkind" in DRG #230 and "Legacies of the Suel Imperium in DRG #241 both refer to the Hellfurnaces being known in earlier days of the Suloise Empire as the southern Crystalmists, and as being "less volcanic." Maybe the vulcanism resulted from something that happened in the wars of the Empire against the Fiery Kings (Shadow Dragons) and the Inheritors of the Red Gloom (Pyremius cultists). I remember the gate to the plane of fire thing but I think it's from a fan-produced source.
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