Need environment ideas

[Splamo]

Hello,

 

I am writing a book that involves a world where several different types of environments, that were never meant to coexist, have been thrust together into a single "earth" world. To get a better idea just think about if you had deserts, rainforests, tundras, etc. that were all pies. Now cut a piece from one of the pies and place it in a spot were you cut another piece from another pie.

 

My question is, given these strange turn of events, what would happen to say a section of a mountain range that suddenly replaced a large area surrounded by desert, or grasslands? Or if a mountain sized glacier was dropped on a redwood forest.

 

I am basically looking for ideas for strange terrains that could support human life (or not) that have been thrown together, then allowed to settle for say 400-500 years. Characters will be traversing or avoiding these landscapes so the more extravagant the better. Any and all ideas are welcome. If I need to expound upon my post please let me know. Let your imaginations run wild.

[CaptainPanic]

You talk about the surface of the terrains... but when you talk about "desert" that is put in the middle of a "jungle", does that also mean that there is plenty of rainfall in the jungle, and just 1 meter across the line no rain falls on the desert? Cos that would mean you need some magic to explain it. (If you're asking for ideas that include magic, you probably chose the wrong forum for the question).

 

... Because, in a more normal world, the plentiful rainfall on the desert that is dumped in a jungle will mean that the jungle will overgrow the desert in a matter of just a few years. In fact, any kind of terrain except mountains is shaped by the sun and climate.

 

I am not sure about the style of the book, but if you want to backup your fantasy world with some more scientific ideas you should start thinking of explaining not how the desert landed in the jungle, but why the hell it remained desert in such a humid place. (Or if you mention permafrost, why it doesn't melt in the tropics).

 

p.s. on earth there are lots of crazy places already. Think of the Namib desert (a thin but long stretch of desert along the coast of Namibia)... or the Kilimanjaro which supports every climate from tropic to arctic.

[Splamo]

Thank you for your response. Magic will not be a factor. One of the main reasons I posted here was not only get answers, but to help clarify what questions I need to ask. I am not as familiar with the earth sciences so these answers give me a good idea to the direction I need to be heading to write accurately. At least accurately enough so a regular high school student reading it would not easily point out the falacies.

 

I do not intend on having the environment stay the same, just some idea of what would happen if that landscape was suddenly translocated and the effects upon it over time. Thanks also for the Namib desert and Kilimanjaro suggestions. Any more strange locations would be most appreciated.

 

When writing a story that includes so many facets of our lives, its hard to kept track of the mundane and often overlooked things.

[miknsk]

Hello,

 

I am writing a book that involves a world where several different types of environments, that were never meant to coexist, have been thrust together into a single "earth" world. To get a better idea just think about if you had deserts, rainforests, tundras, etc. that were all pies. Now cut a piece from one of the pies and place it in a spot were you cut another piece from another pie.

But... Such situation has been described already... But I can't remember the author's name... In his book "new Earth" is combined from different pieces from different places and periods.

[Splamo]

Well just because some facet of a book I would like to write has been done before doesn't mean I can not still write about it myself. Most ideas in fact have been done before in some form or fashion. This aspect of my book is not the most important, just a by-product of the world the characters live in.

 

I looked up "New Earth" but just got back results about some Oprah selfhelp crap.

 

Back to topic. Anyone have any more good suggestions like CaptainPanic in regards to strange ecological locations that exist on Earth?

[Rev Blair]

You could try using some technological explanation to preserve, or somewhat preserve conditions where they wouldn't otherwise exist...some alien experiment left on its own. Technology we don't understand looks a lot like magic, after all.

 

It also occurs to me that you might want to have a look at some of the scenarios in Larry Niven's "Ringworld". Not exactly the same scenario you are talking about, but it might give you some ideas, Splamo.

 

As for strange ecological places, here in Manitoba we have the Carberry desert. It has moving sand dunes and some species peculiar to it. Right next to it is a geographical feature called The Devil's Punchbowl, which is basically a small, abrupt valley in the middle of the prairie. You might want to do some research into places like that, since they are so different from the surrounding area.