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--- geography:sekhaa:start [2024/01/25 09:16] – removed - external edit (Unknown date) 127.0.0.1
+++ geography:sekhaa:start [2025/12/04 12:20] (current) – shyriath
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+====== Sekhaa ======
+{{ :sekhaa_labeled.png?200|The continent of Sekhaa, with important features labeled}}
+{{tag>wip}}
+**Sekhaa** [sɛˈxɑː, sɛˈkʰɑː, θɪˈxʔɑː] is the accepted term, in the [[language:imperial:start|Imperial language]], for the largest continent on [[universe:mikurmiya:avishraa|Avishraa]] and the one to which all three known [[species:#enenkalar|sophont species]] are native.
+===== Etymology ====
+The word //Sekhaa// ultimately derived from an Ancient or pre-Ancient Imperial term [t͡sɯˈkhɑjɑtʰ] that referred to the civilized world, having a certain amount of similarity to the original sense of the Earthly term //[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecumene|oikumene]]//. The term was used to contrast with lands that were not inhabited - or, to be more precise, not inhabited by those who could be considered people, who were the only ones who counted. Since this definition generally excluded any [[takma:|takmar]] who were too unfriendly, too technologically backward, or too foreign, as well as anyone of any other intelligent species, [t͡sɯˈkhɑjɑtʰ] referred in practice to settled or settlement-centered areas in what is now called the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Heartlands]], though the precise extent depended on who was speaking. The sense of the word expanded in scope during the [[geopolitical:empire:|Imperial]] period, as more and more territory came to be considered "civilized", until it began to be applied to the entire landmass.
+//Sekhaa// is nowadays a proper noun, used only to refer to the mainland continent and the islands immediately adjacent to it. Regardless, some measure of its original meaning remains in that its use is considered more technical the further away from takma-inhabited lands it is applied; that is to say, the entire landmass is Sekhaa, but when a takma might make blanket statements about Sekhaa, they usually refer only to those parts of it that their species lives in.
+===== Size and arrangement =====
+Sekhaa is a large continent, spanning from 75°N to 20°S in latitude, and 60°W to 66°E in longitude; it runs approximately 8250 km from north to south and 8500 km from east to west, and can be roughly compared in land area to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asia|Asia]]. The continent makes up most of the landmass to exist on the side of Avishraa that faces [[universe:mikurmiya:Kastun]], the gas giant of which Avishraa is a natural satellite; Kastun's phase and position in the sky are, therefore, important for navigation.
+It is bounded on the east by the [[geography:ocean:Dawn Sea]], which separates it from the recently-discovered continents of [[geography:Enarri:]] to the southeast and [[geography:Talmat:]] to the east. To the south, it is bounded by [[geography:ocean:uvuuns_reach|Uvuun's Reach]], an ocean which covers most of the southern hemisphere of the moon; aside from scattered islands it extends uninterrupted to the pole. To the west, it is bounded by another ocean that does not yet have a consensus name in Imperial, as it lies beyond the areas extensively linked by sea; beyond it lies a somewhat fragmented continent that has not yet been discovered. To the north of Sekhaa lies the north polar ocean.
+===== Geography and climate =====
+Sekhaa is, very approximately, in the shape of a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serif|serif]] upper-case Z.
+==== Southern Sekhaa ====
+The lower limb of the Z, in southern Sekhaa, for the most part runs approximately east-west, parallel to and just south of the equator. Its connection to the rest of Sekhaa, at the western end, is crossed and mostly obstructed by the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Spine of Sirdanth]], one of Avishraa's highest mountain ranges. Uvuun's Reach lies to the south and the Dawn Sea to the east, while the to the north is the [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Windward Sea]], surrounded by Southern Sekhaa and its "serif" on the south and east and the remainder of the Z to its west.
+The [[geography:sekhaa:river:Sahvarr]] and its many tributaries run generally southward from the Spine and its foothills into the estuary, and from there into Uvuun's Reach, while the smaller [[geography:sekhaa:river:Oresh]] watershed empties northward into the Windward Sea. These are [[geography:sekhaa:region:Sibakh Hills|separated]] [[geography:sekhaa:region:Haatar Range|by hills]] from extensive lowlands further east, the core of the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Cerulean Tangle]]: so named for its extensive wetlands and rainforests and its winding, silty rivers.
+East of the Tangle lie the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Intaal Mountains]], which run north to south across the middle of Southern Sekhaa. A relatively modest range, while it serves as the natural barrier between the cultures of the Tangle and those further east, they provide a fairly porous obstacle to land travel. Beyond them, further east, lies the larger watershed of the freshwater [[geography:sekhaa:water:Kebel Sea]] and a region of hilly terrain and small watersheds that extends to the easternmost end of the peninsula.
+The "serif" of this limb of the Z - called [[geography:sekhaa:region:Karrod]] in the Heartlands - projects northward across the equator, consisting of two compact landmasses connected to each other by a narrow [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isthmus|isthmus]] (with another isthmus connecting one to the rest of the mainland). Both portions of the serif have relatively rugged terrain and tiny watersheds, especially at the northern end. The difficulty of land travel in this region isolated it from the rest of Sekhaa in the days before the use of long-range ships became common, which was a factor in the development of such vessels by the civilizations of the [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Abethine Sea]] and the [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Jade Gulf]] that lie in this region.
+Southern Sekhaa lies almost entirely within the belt of high temperatures and precipitation that sits over the equator of Avishraa, and is dominated by rainforests, wetlands, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_forest|cloud forests]] at certain elevations and, along large sections of the coast, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove|mangrove]] forests. Some areas on the downwind sides of mountains or other elevated areas may receive more moderate rainfall - almost all of which consist of stretches of the Windward Sea coast - but the strongest climatic variations come from altitude itself, with higher elevations tending toward warm steppes or grassland. Particularly high elevations - rarely in the Intaals but much more prevalent in the Spine of Sirdanth - may shade into tundra and polar conditions, with dry forests on lower upwind slopes.
+==== Southwestern Sekhaa ====
+==== Central Sekhaa ====
+==== Northern Sekhaa ====
+==== Northwestern Sekhaa ====
+==== Northeastern Sekhaa ====
+===== Features =====
+==== Landmarks ====
+Geographical features or areas that are notable enough to be named but have too small an extent to be considered regions.
+==== Regions ====
+Roughly defined areas of land, independent of geopolitical allegiance. This includes mountain ranges (as opposed to individual mountains).
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Abethine Coast]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:bariths_gate|Barith's Gate]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Brightness]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Cerulean Tangle]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Dunooma|[ɡ͡ǃɯ.ˈnɤː.ma]]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Haatar Range]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Heartlands]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Intaal Mountains]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Jade Coast]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Jaruk Heights]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Karrod]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Nentir Highlands]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Nest of the Sun]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:ordeths_claw|Ordeth's Claw]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Refuge Range]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Sea of Grass]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Sibakh Hills]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Silent Lands]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Spine of Sirdanth]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Storm Coasts]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:tavaths_gap|Tavath's Gap]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:region:Velestrin]]
+==== Islands and island chains ====
+Islands associated with Sekhaa, while being separated from it by water.
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:island:idrizals_teeth|Idrizal's Teeth]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:island:Pearls of Nyèlik]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:island:Sunset Isles]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:island:Tremorous Isles]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:island:Xilanze]]
+==== Mountains ====
+Individual mountains, hills, peaks, and prominent heights.
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:mountain:Oghyina]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:mountain:Tiiren]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:mountain:Vana Idrizal]]
+==== Rivers and streams ====
+Permanent or intermittent but long-term bodies of flowing water.
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Dhirim]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Ehvanti]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Hešrin]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Sahvarr]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Oresh]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Shedir]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:river:Tanal]]
+==== Water bodies ====
+Inland bodies of standing water. Lakes, inland seas.
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:water:Kebel Sea]]
+==== Marine bodies ====
+Areas of saltwater that are part of and directly connected to the ocean, but which are substantially defined by the land they border. Bays, gulfs, fjords.
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Abethine Sea]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Bay of Gnawing Winds]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Crimson Sea]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:giants_gap|Giant's Gap]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Gulf of In!ei]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Gulf of Shaad]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Denoric Gulf]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Jade Gulf]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Sea of Twilights]]
+  * [[geography:sekhaa:marine:Windward Sea]]
+===== Political geography =====
+===== History =====