Sita'arla

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Sita'arla, known more commonly as the Sita'arlan Desert is a region of the Occidental Continent situated on the western side of the Alerine Mountain Belt. It is home to The Junta as well as the native Shahi'arla.

Climate

The Sita'arlan Desert is predominantly rocky, with large temperature extremes between day and night and very little seasonal variation. The area has no surface rivers, though there are numerous volcanic, subterranean rivers known as Bukhari Rivers carrying water from the Alerine Mountains, which ocassionally extend to the surface to create swamp-like hot springs or steam vents.

The Sita'arlan Desert recieves seasonal rainfall, in a phenomenon known as the rolling storm, which cycles north-south through the desert on a yearly cycle.

Ecology

The Sita'arlan Desert's rivers and springs are filled with bacteria which feed on the chemicals brought up the by the region's volcanism. They are home also to various kinds of flora, including grasses and flowers, as well as the Sita'arlan nutbush, the swamp palm, and the swamp acacia.

More arid areas are home to grasses and cacti which recieve moisture from the rolling storm, as well as deepwoods, a relative of the Swamp Acacia whose roots extend into subterranean bukhari rivers.

The swamp ecosystem includes animals which don't move from spring to spring (except, sometimes, to mate) and survive the rolling storm through the creation of nests or burrows, such as flies, mosquitos, toads, otters, snakes, and lizards. Outside the swamps, one can find scorpions, spiders, other snakes and lizards, sand cats, and wasps.

The Sita'arlan Desert is also home to a large number of migratory birds, including sandcatchers, gulls, and vultures.

Lastly, the rolling storm itself is home to a large swarm of varied animals known collectively as ramilqeeda.