Geography

The geography of duallus is reatively simple. There is only one continent, along with a handful of small islands scattered across the rest of the planet. Only a little over 2% of the planet's surface is actually land. Thus, almost 98% of the planet is c overed by water in some form. Approximately 86% of this is liquid water. The other 12% makes up the polar ice caps.

Geology: Plate Tectonics

Duallus consists of approximately 26 plates, although most of these are smaller than 3 square miles. There are four major suboceanic plates and one continental plate. The continental plate was, at one time, two separate plates, as evidenced by the mounta ins that run north-south about two-thirds the way across the continent. However, the eastern continental plate, which was originally a suboceanic plate, became wedged on top of the western continental plate, and the resulting volcanic eruptions around the fault line sealed the two plates together. The fault has been stable for over 20,000 of our years, according togeological scans.

Five of the six remaining suboceanic plates are relatively stable, moving at a constant rate. The north and south polar plates are slowly rotating in clockwise directions when viewed from the appropriate end, thus contrary motion with respect to each oth er.

To the east of the continent, a large rift in the ovean floor allows new material to rise from the core of the planet, pushing the continental plate westward due to the stability of the plate to the east of the rift. The Alpha plate, as we currently call it, does not appear to be moving at a measurable rate. To its east, the Beta plate is somewhat more active, though its motion isprimarily north to south. New magma enters where it meets the north polar plate, and the Beta plate is forced back into the pl anet's molten core where it meets the south polar plate. The next plate, the Gamma plate, is created were it meets the southern polar plate and is forced upwards in an underwater mountain chain where it meets the Deltan plate, the most active plate.

The Deltan plate is formed where it meets the Beta plate, and forms mountain ridges where it meets the Gamma plate and the continental plate. Fortunately, the majority of motion is currently in the direction of the Gamma plate, due primarily to uneven ou tput of the Beta rift from one end to the other. However, lateral shifts do occur with respect to the continental plate, causing some earthquakes in the mountainous regions along the northern coastline.

Shown here is a relief map of Duallus. The blue areas are below sea level, and most of them are filled with water. The light brown areas are just above sea level. The light blue areas make up the central continental plateau, interrupted by green areas �e ssentially foothills, orange areas � medium height mountains, and red areas � high rocky peaks. The red mountain peaks are typically 20% higher than any mountains on earth, and were mostly formed when the continental plate was solidified.