Geography
The Republic of Rockall comprises a group of islands located near the centre of the North Atlantic Ocean, positioned west of Ireland and east of Newfoundland; southeast of Greenland and southwest of Iceland.The largest of the Rockalese islands is Rockall itself (also known as Greater Rockall), at roughly twice the size of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal). To its southwest is Vragansarat (also called Lesser Rockall), about the size of Wales. Smaller islands surround Vragansarat, while other islands lie off the south coast of Rockall proper. A further small island, Atselor (also called North Point Island) lies off Rockall’s northeastern promontory, forming the northernmost component of the Republic. Although the Republic lies far west of the European mainland, it is considered part of Europe for two reasons. Geographically, because it is enclosed by the warm Gulf Stream, flowing north to bathe the shores of Europe, while from North America it is separated by the cold, south flowing Labrador Current. Historically, because immigration from European countries - Great Britain and France in particular - has been a major factor throughout the last thousand years of Rockalese history. Rockall is thus the westernmost European realm.
Greater Rockall is shaped roughly like a broad-waisted hourglass. It comprises four major regions: the Northern Mountains, the Eastern Mountains, the Central Lowlands and the Southern Mountains.
The Northern Mountains consist of a series of connected ridges running from northeast to southwest, with the Mentone Plateau forming their southwestern extension. They are of almost Alpine height, with several peaks exceeding 3,000 metres (9,840 feet) and the highest peak, the Mount of Storms, attaining almost 4,000 metres (13,120 feet). Fjords fringe their western and northeastern coasts. On the southern side they are bordered by lowlands through which flows Rockall’s mightiest river, the Aramassa. The Rockall (or Stoney) Mountains and the Scarpland Hills, south of the Aramassa, are outliers of the Northern Mountains.
The Eastern Mountains are separated from the Northern Mountains by the Green River, and from the Scarpland Hills in the west by the Meranian River. Their highest ridge, the Lorraine Mountains, reaches almost 2,750 metres (9,320 feet). These mountains form a U, which opens towards the eastern seaboard, its centre occupied by the drainage system of the Molokhondma River. South of the Eastern Mountains lies the deep Lorraine Channel.
The Central Lowlands comprise three main regions, differing in vegetation and water -flow pattern. Their northern part is comprised, in the east, of the Green River Lowlands and in the west, of the Aramassa Lowlands; these are grasslands with an area of desert separating them. The westward-flowing Aramassa River is joined, near its mouth, by a second major river, the Mentone. Extensive swamps, almost at sea-level, lie about the mouths of these two great rivers and that of a third river, the Marolane.These swamplands, the Great Marshes, are the most extensive in Rockall. The Rockall Mountains and Scarpland Hills separate these lowlands from what is still a heavily forested region, - though nowadays in part cleared for agriculture. Its eastern rivers empty into the Lorraine Channel, while its western rivers enter the sea through the Great Marshes, some of them rising from inland swamps known as the Sherman Fens. The forests are divided by the River Antoman, which flows north from the isolated Antoman Hills to empty, not into the sea, but into the Westerlands Lake on the inner side of the low Yorkland Hills. The southern part of the Central Lowlands is again characterized by grassland, both to east and west, with a forested region between. The Serren Lowlands on the east are separated from the Lorraine Channel by two uplands, the Sickle Hills and Munrovia Moor. The more arid western portion is drained by the west-flowing Werenthin River, which empties into Delisle Bay.
The Southern Mountains are less lofty and more rounded than their eastern and northern counterparts, never exceeding 2,000 metres (6560 feet) in height. Their shape has been compared to that of a westward travelling looper caterpillar (inchworm). The Fachnar Hills, to the west, are isolated from the main mass by rivers flowing north into Delisle Bay or south into Fachnar Bay. Along the south coast are a series of bays, into which rivers empty from the north; the largest inlet is the huge Arcturus Bay. From their eastern ridges, several other small rivers flow eastward into the sea. In addition, there is a basin of inland drainage near the middle of the Southern Mountains, centering upon Lake Vanadha, Rockall’s largest lake.
The Offshore Islands. A series of islands of varying size, most of them inhabited, fringe Greater Rockall’s south shore. The largest is Sayangadek at the mouth of Arcturus Bay. South of them lie the deeper waters of the Rockall Strait.
Vragansarat (Lesser Rockall) is the largest of a cluster of islands south of the Rockall Strait. It has the approximate shape of a molar tooth with long roots. It is a hilly island, with dissected north-south ridges forming a complex topography and reaching a maximum height in Mount Ulekhimei (Xulekhimey) at 1,800 metres (5,472 feet). A number of smaller islands, some inhabited, surround Vragansarat.
