.We'll start with Tyria (the continent).
For those parts we can see (i.e. not the Maguuma), we generally see a large amount of what appears to be volcanic mafic and felsic rocks. For examples, look at the Fire Islands (obviously) and Lion's Arch, which both bear dark, mafic formations, and Ascalon, which bears some of what appears to be either felsic or intermediate rocks. This seem to imply to me that Tyria had a VERY violent geologic past.
The Crystal Desert is rather unsurprising - it seems to be largely comprised of medium to fine-grained siliciclastic sediments, with occasional mudcracks evident in rock surfaces (or what appear to be rocks). This would imply, contrary to established lore, that the desert experienced a period of being a very shallow sea (i.e. a few inches deep). The most surprising thing about the desert is that there is no evidence of any former marine life in the area. We know there are fish in the world of Tyria (check the merchants in Lion's Arch), so there is obviously forms of extant marine life. Why then are no marine fossils or other traces found in the Crystal Desert? If a cataclysmic and ridiculously rapid event were to cause the desertification and drying of the desert, we could expect at least a few "trapped" organisms.
Lastly, the Giganticus lupicus, whose bones litter the desert, are often assumed to be humanoid. However, since Lupicus can be translated (loosely) as "wolf-like", and the skulls in the Crystal Desert bear much more resemblance to canine (or indeed Cetacean) lineages: they are elongated, with a set of large teeth reminiscent of Basilosaurus or some similar proto-cetacean, and the spine attaches at the back of the skull, not the bottom as in humanoids. Is it possible then that G. lupicus was equivalent to a oversized Mesonychid? This would seem to me the only explanation for what has generally been regarded as a land-dwelling creature hanging out near the Crystal Desert which, for a while, was a vast sea. Until the exile of Abaddon, our Giganticus lupicus friends, which were extinct then anyway, would have a tough time living if they weren't somehow adapted to at least semi-marine conditions.
Another possibility is that the volcanism discussed above was the cause of the Giganticus lupicus extinction. Volcanoes belching CO2 into the atmosphere could raise the temperature, plunging Tyria into a runaway greenhouse effect. The melting of the Shiverpeaks lowers planetary albedo, and presto, you have a rising sea level that inundates areas where these poor dog thingies used to dwell.
Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts|||Yeah, that's a fine theory, but I believe all this has already been discussed in the 'Of Giganticus Lupicus' thread and various Crystal Desert/Sea threads, from what I can remember.|||Not exactly, Mulinex, the Giganticus Lupicus parts, for the most part. The geological bits, no way, though. You're not going to find anything on that in the Giganticus Lupicus thread.
Also, the funny part is, you found that through examination, the bit about it being a sea. We knew of that quite awhile back from the Manuscripts, stating that the Gods' raised the land for the Forgotten to dwell on.|||Probably one of the most professional reads I've read in the lore forum.
I guess we could really use this information in a lot of lore discussions.
Thanks a lot.|||I have been, in the past months, developing my geological theory on the Tyrian continent. I was going to wait some time until I had some visual aid, but seeing that now people are starting to talk about it, I'm wondering if I should post it today. What I don't know is if I post it in this thread or create another (since it isn't exactly the same topic but some of the things covered here are part of my theory)|||Post it here, if you want. I'm just assembling theories of Tyrian geology. If it disagrees with mine, of course still post it. No one is "right" here. Also, I'm not counting the "rocks" of the Jade Sea or the Echovald Forest (i.e. the petrified, probably silicate trees and the Jade), as these events are so cataclysmic as to be unimportant Geologically. With that being said, here's a short bit on Cantha:
The rocks on Shing Jea seem to be largely volcanic (check the huge cliff in the Monastery). However, some sites seem to show dipped strata.. evidence of an orogenic event? Eitherway, the manland, particularly Kaineng, seems to be erosion reminiscent of Bryce Canyon, UT. This would make sense considering the ocean nearby, and would also indicate a lowering of the sea level (see above, particularly the transformation of the Crystal Sea into the Crystal Desert).|||Well in the Desolation there is a quest where a ghost is on an expedition to find proof of that the Desolation and Crystal Desert used to be under water. It is also possible that the Forgotten and other inhabitants have scavenged the remains of marine life for practical uses.
The sand has also probably buried a lot of the remains.|||Quote:
The sand has also probably buried a lot of the remains.
Quote:
If a cataclysmic and ridiculously rapid event were to cause the desertification and drying of the desert, we could expect at least a few "trapped" organisms.
Maybe the "explosion" and emitting energy, that was caused by the defeat of Abaddon, was forceful enough to simply pulverize, and/or desintecrate nearly all organic life from the mortal plane - right into the Realm of Torment (EDIT: for example, we find inhabitants of Orr in the Realm, that were killed by the Cataclysm, which was also somewhat created by Abaddon).
That's not unlikely: If even Shiro's death-wail was so powerful to turn water and every lifeform into jade/stone, Abaddon's must have been quite impressive...|||Ok, I'm posting this. It is a theory based on the real world's plate tectonic, and I made it while studying for a geology test. The purpose of this was to image how Tyria (continent) would be thousands of years ago. Based on this theory I was creating Tyrian maps, to more easily explain my thoughts, in different times of its existence. Sorry for the long text.
Continents – Do they move?
Have the continents always looked the same? Or have they gradually changed over the ages, originating those we now know? A theory has recently started to form on my head and while there’s much to be disproven about it, I believe it may be a starting point to more research.
The start – Kryta and the Ring of Fire
I first started thinking on this when I realized the strict resemblance between the shores of the Ring of Fire Islands and the southern coastlines of Kryta. I was immediately convinced they had been together sometime in the past. But a coastline resemblance is not enough. But that’s not the only connection between Kryta and the Ring of Fire, is it? They both originated in the same way: volcanic activities. Rock formations in both regions have the same volcanic origins. Not just that but there’s also resemblance in the type of flora. The same trees that live in the Krytan nation used to exist in the Ring of Fire. Proof of that is the tiny region west of the Mursaat fortress where some plant specimens exactly like the ones in Kryta. How can seeds travel through the sea and start growing so far away from home? And there is no trace of those plants in the Maguuma, which is much more closer? The answer would have to be that at least parts of the Ring of Fire Island Chain were once connected to the continent.
“Rise” of the Crystal Desert and the orrian penynsula
So, what do we get from this? Kryta and The Ring of Fire were connected, born possibly at the same time. But then, how does an island travel so far a distance? Even more interesting, how could it fit in the small space between the Maguuma and Orrian shores? To answer this, we have to suppose that Orr wasn’t yet there at the time of the movement.
This leads me to the second part of my theory. How did the orrian penynsula originate? Well, before the “rise” of the Crystal Desert, there probably wasn’t any Orr. Why? Because, though there hasn’t been any research to the rocks in that place, we have access to the maps that show us it consists of mainly sedimentary rocks. Sedimentary rocks are born out of the deposition of smaller rocks, wether by the wind or water, that will then, through pressure an temperature from the weight of the other small rocks above them, originate big chunks of rock. Therefore, I believe the Orrian penynsula was born by the continuous deposition of crystal sands that would later originate solid rock, giving birth to the penynsula. Therefore, the movement of the Ring of Fire would happen before the creation of the penynsula.
Several clues scattered across Kryta point to the fact that some of it was underwater, not a long time ago. Ruins of boats in high places, indicate that most of Kryta had been flooded for some time. Seen has the Krytan soil is mainly volcanic rocks, it’s not hard to believe that it’s risen from the seas. However, since the boats appear to be krytan, we are led to believe that the water level has descended after Kryta was formed, after volcanic activities have almost stopped. Another important aspect that points to this is the rise of the Crystal Desert. It is believed that Abbadon has risen the Crystal Desert, a great geological body, from the depths. I assume this is wrong. Abbadon was the god of water, not god of rock, so it’s easy to conclude that he didn’t rise the desert, rather he decreased the water level. This would cause the giant’s basin to break its connections to the Bay of Sirens, imagining it had those connections( since it’s a salt-water lake).
This would have happened before the movement of the Ring of Fire islands through the sea, but after volcanic activities had stopped in the Krytan kingdom.
Maguuma and the Shiverpeaks connected
Before we start this third topic, we must look at the rocks in maguuma. In northern maguuma, in the jungle, we can notice most rocks are sedimentary. They are made of small grains compressed into rocks, therefore weak, and easily destroyed. These rocks are created at the surface of the planet. In southern maguuma, in the Tarnished Coast, rocks are not sedimentary. They are magmatic, but not volcanic like the ones in Kryta. The rocks here are mainly plutonic. These means the rocks are strong and originate from the solidification of the magma deep beneath the soil. But now they are at the surface because the weaker sedimentary rocks above them suffered erosion. So, we can assume that when the water level was high, these rocks were beneath the ground, and the maguuma lands were higher, probably as high as the shiverpeaks.
Not just that, but we can also assume that these ancient maguuma lands and the Shiverpeaks were connected. The were joined together, and then volcanic eruption started between them, and kryta rised, separating this regions. Proof to the fact that Maguuma and the Shiverpeaks were indeed connected is the little region of Sparkfly Swamps, that has both the same type of rocks, the same type of flora and fauna as the Tarnished Coast regions.
So, the Shiverpeaks and maguuma were connected at some point, and then the two plates separate and islands are formed in between. In the meanwhile, the maguuma sedimentary plains are eroded, and after Kryta is totally formed, the sea level decreases. This makes the maguuma regions look like mountains, when before they were at sea-level. Erosion keeps making its job, and after some more time the areas near to the coast are not so high up any more, but get closer to the sea-level. At this point, plutonic rocks become visible at the surface.
About the Ring of Fire
After the formation of the Krytan areas, a small chunk of land is separated from these newly formed regions, creating a tiny tectonic plate, that’ll move down towards a place south of the Tarnished Coast. When it moves, it is but a rock, with no volcanic activity, no magma, until it reaches that final place.
This region isn’t just an empty place with nothing but water. Rather, I believe some magmatic islands may have formed. When the moving islands from Kryta arrive, they’ll colide with the islands that were already there, creating the Ring of Fire island chain. This place is in the middle of a triple plate frontier, which means three tectonic plates meet here, two of them moving away from each other, the third pushing against the other two, which allows for both efusive and explosive volcanic eruptions in this place, originating vulcans with the characteristics of the one we see in the game, Abbadon’s Mouth.
In the meanwhile, since the Crystal Desert has already risen, the Orrian penynsula is formed, by the successive deposition of sediments, that originated solid rocks. The fact that sedimentary rocks are more fragile than other rocks also allows us to explain why it sunk when the Cataclism was brought about (If we believe the disaster was not so powerful as to sink a penynsula).|||Really nice writing there, but:
Quote:
It is believed that Abbadon has risen the Crystal Desert, a great geological body, from the depths. I assume this is wrong. Abbadon was the god of water, not god of rock, so it’s easy to conclude that he didn’t rise the desert, rather he decreased the water level.
In fact, Abaddon didn't do anything. The Desolation and the Crystal Desert was created through Abaddon's defeat by the Gods.
And the manuscripts say:
These legends claim that it was the gods who raised the land (...)
But that was before we even heard about Abaddon, so yeah, we don't know if the desert was raised, or if the water level decreased.
Quote:
Well, before the “rise” of the Crystal Desert, there probably wasn’t any Orr.
There was...
King Doric (...) made the long trek to Arah, the city of the gods, on the Orrion peninsula, before Abaddon was banished.
No comments:
Post a Comment