Skip to main content
Commonmark migration
Source Link

#A

A

#B

B

#C

C

#A

#B

#C

A

B

C

Bounty Ended with 250 reputation awarded by Pedro Gabriel
Source Link
kingledion
  • 85.8k
  • 29
  • 285
  • 484

#A

This desert is mostly appropriate. An analogy to this continental feature is the southern part of Africa. Most of this is the Kalahari desert, especially on the Eastern side. If your planet rotates in the same direction as Earth, you will have a similar gradient of dry desert on the east to semi-arid savanna on the west. There is even a bit of wet savanna on the far western coast.

Cape Town has a nice Mediterranean climate at 33 S, so if your continent extends north past ~30-35 or so, you can expect a Mediterranean climate to develop.

#B

Anything within a few degrees of the Equator will be a rainforest. Even the northern half of Africa, which quickly grades into the Sahara Desert, is relatively wet, up to about 4 degrees N at Bangui. Therefore, your mountains would be expected to be very wet, with lots of small rivers coming down to feed a rainforest pushing out to about 5 degrees from the equator.

Savanna would then persist up to at least 10 degrees north. In Africa, N'Djamena is at 12 N but still wet enough to support agriculture in river valleys and herding on the open plains.

South of 10-15 it would become true tropical desert. With the mountains you mention, the land would be drier, but still not a desert. An example from Earth would be Dodoma, Tanzania. It is surrounded on three sides by mountains at 6 degrees S, but is not a total desert.

A more unique situation of a city in tropical desert surrounded on three sides by mountains is Lodwar, Kenya. However, in that case, the desert basin is small, a portion of the Eastern Rift Valley. Your continental scale depression between mountains will accrue enough moisture into it (from rivers from the equatorial mountains) that it won't get that dry.

#C

There are many deserts at this latitude, but you need to cut them off from the ocean. A west coast between 30-45 degrees from the Equator is Western Europe, and East coast is either China or the Eastern US. All of them are pretty wet. Instead, you want the western US. Cut off between the Coast ranges and the Rockies, the interior great basin of the US has the same latitude range you want. Extend those red mountains south enough to cut off the land from moisture carried in prevailing winds at sea.

D

Polar regions are pretty much deserts. The taiga cuts out between 60 and 70 N and thereafter it is tundra.

?

Assuming your planet rotates the same way as the Earth, this area will get significant rainfall from the rainforest and ocean regions to the West of it. Prevailing equatorial winds will blow moisture in year round.

Since we already determined that A is like the southern part of Africa, this region is remarkably similar to Central Africa, complete with a jutting projection of rain forest analogous to West Africa.

In general, the areas closer to the coast will be a bit drier, and in the center of the continent a bit wetter; but the 'armpit' of land on the west coast will see heavy monsoons. Typical rainfall regimes might be like Douala, Cameroon in the 'armpit'; Port Gentil, Gabon northwards along the coast (note the two distinct rainy seasons); a drier Kinshasa in the coastal regions; and a wetter Kisangani in the interior. As you head north, it will turn into savanna by at least 6-8 N.

Conclusion

Africa is pretty dry all in all, and a good continent for you to use as a model. Just keep in mind, especially in southern Africa, Africa also tends to be the highest continent. Most of the southern half of the continent is at 1000m +. If you are copying climate conditions, make sure you make it warmer if your places are at lower elevation.