Forum:Territory application/AR120-47 - Iowana

Forums → Territory application → Territory application/AR120-47 - Iowana

Please fill in the information below to make a territory request.

	Territory ID and proposed name
	The Territory ID (from OpenGeofiction:Territories, e.g. AR123a) and proposed name of the country

AR120-56 -- Iowana

	Physical geography
	An overview of climate, topography and landscape of the country. It is advised to also create a sketch, you can add a link to this (hosted on imgur or similar)

Iowana is filled with rolling hills. In the north, Iowana is filled with farmland as far as the eye can see. The land is very fertile for farming due to the many swamps that were drained for farming, similar to that of northern and central Iowa. The southeast of Iowana is forest filled, with many small ponds and lakes. The forests are made up of mainly evergreen style trees, due to the freezing temperatures encountered due to the proximity of the lakes. The central of Iowana is where the populations are based. The land is sloping towards the Elkhart River, a river connecting Lake Betaouas and Lake Saugnash. The land is good for cattle roaming, meaning there are very few towns other than the central metropolitan area.. In the far east of the province, there is the Polk River, river flowing from Lake Saugnash to Lake Seneppi.

The summers of Iowana are warm, typically reaching highs in the 80s F and 90s F. Fall turns quickly from summer to winter, typically switching between summer like temps and winter like temps. Winter can reach lows in the -10s F. There is lake effect snow from the southwest, northeast, and southeast. Drifts can reach tens of feet tall, and travel is typically very difficult during this time. Spring can bring heavy rains and snow can reach relatively far into the spring. Temps are very nice, and there are many fields of flowers in the central regions of the province.

	Human geography
	A brief description of the territory demographics, economic development, land occupation, infrastructure and mapping style

Northern Iowana

The north of Iowana is covered in farmland. Due to the richness of the farmland here due to drained swamps and clearcut forests, there was not much room for larger towns in this area, and the land never grew up to have any large or significant towns. The transportation is not great for outsiders and travelers. many rural gravel and unimproved roads connect the rural fields and small townships. Further spread more important towns may be connected with a state highway, but in general everything in the north is under local control of the many townships. This has an unintended side effect of having very windy and unpredictable roads, further disincentivizing developments of towns. There is a main highway running from the north to the east, but no other major cross province highways.

Central Iowana

The center of the province is where all of the population resides. The capitol of Alleman is located on the Elkhart River. There are two highways, one on either side of the river, crossing from the southeast to the northwest of the province. On the Elkhart River are groupings of larger cities and towns, and much urban and rural sprawl connecting these cities together. The land in central Iowana is quite good for cattle grazing, as it can be slightly harsh and the soil not rich enough for farming.

Southern Iowana

The south and southeast of the province is more full of forests and patches of cattle grazing. This land is less hospitable to humans due to the unpredictable and often harsh winters, caused by the lakes. There are many timber farms located in the forests, and logs are often sent by barge through the Elkhart and/or Polk Rivers and through to bigger cities. With the timber farms, there are many roads running through these forests that are often harsh and unmaintained, bringing in people from far away to explore the wilderness.

Counties

The government of Iowana rushed the creation of counties, causing oddities in the county system. Examples include Elkhart and Polk counties, neither of which cover the creeks for which they are named.

Iowana has 10 counties.

Meer County

Story County

Jasper County

Alleman County

Elkhart County

Dallas County

Polk County

Bell County

Park County

Ankeny County

Mapping styles

The mapping style of Iowana follows many of the midwest. Southern Iowana follows more closely Wisconsin or northern Minnesota, with a bit of New England mixed in. Central Iowana does not follow as closely that of an existing state, with an odd mix of cattle grazing and cities, without much farmland. Northern Iowana follows more closely that of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.

I plan on working with neighbor states/countries to improve connectivity with roads, rails, and other such things. If you are one or know one, it would be cool to coordinate!

Approximate Proposed Map of Iowana, Roads and Geography

https://imgur.com/oNc1VzE

	History & culture
	A brief description of the intended culture and language

Iowana has strong ties to the Ingerish and the German. The main language is Ingerish, but many of the smaller towns may have names derived from German or French.

The history of Iowana started with a rush in the 1800s. The government allowed people to claim a plot of land, so many immigrants to the FSA moved down to Iowana. The railroads came in just after this, and many towns in the north were started on the railroads, either by the railroad companies or by private individuals.There towns were often hastily made, so the older parts of these towns are often in a grid, and further developments adding individuality to the towns.

The center of Iowana is much more influenced by outside cultures compared to the north and south. This is due to easy access via the lakes, allowing for easy trade before the railroads and roads were all fully installed. Because of this difference, the politics of Iowana were such that the north and south wanted to manage themselves more, and because the central of the state did not like the north and south, in the 1800s and 1900s the government pushed most of the money to the center of the state, and the north and south generated somewhat independently of the center of the state.

	Past mapping
	To support your request provide links to areas of OGF mapping which showcase your mapping skill. Mapping relevant to the requested theme & geography is especially useful
	The {{coord}} template can optionally be used to link to the OGF map - it results in a nice formatted link. Or you can paste in a URL.

City and rural mapping

I have mapped the medium sized city of Spencer, located in Mecyna.

https://opengeofiction.net/#map=12/-25.3716/145.0726&layers=B

The borders I have mapped most are N of the railroad, S of Vinnie's Point, E of the ocean, and W of highway 10. This includes all of Spencer, Spencer River, and the Robert Spencer Highway.

Motorway mapping

https://opengeofiction.net/#map=11/-25.1863/145.9839&layers=B

EAST Expressway/Highway 3 from Exit 0 to Exit 7. Exits 8-12 were an existing primary highway upgraded to motorway.

https://opengeofiction.net/#map=11/-25.9945/146.1488&layers=B

SBHE, from South Bord to Herreingen. This highway span I mapped is long enough to cross about a quarter of Iowana.

OpenStreetMapping

While I understand that this typically has less relevance to OGF, I have OSM mapped extensively in a small portion of Central Iowa, on a few small towns and lots of landuse mapping.

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/41.8119/-93.5542&layers=N

	Username & date
	Sign and date the application by typing four tildes like this: ~~~~

RobertTBS (talk) 01:27, 11 August 2023 (UTC)

	Discussion
	Discussion for clarification & decision

Hello RobertTBS, thanks for putting this application together. As one of the admins of Archanta, and as a long-time Federal States mapper (and potential neighbor), I had a few comments regarding your application that I'd like you to consider:

• The climate of AR120-56 is slightly cooler than what you're proposing. The FSA is in OGF's Southern Hemisphere, so the further south you go the colder it gets; the state line between AR120-56 and Minnonigan (my state) to the north is set at 42°S; combined with the cooling effects of the lakes (the prevailing wind in our region comes from the northwest) would make AR120-56's climate more like central Michigan rather than central Iowa.
• The Lakes are all already hydrologically planned and mapped; as such, Lake Betaouais does not have any natural outflow to Lake Sauganash, and instead flows south through AR120-57 (the state to the south) into Lake Minnehunkou. While a canal would be possible through the central part of the state, a natural connection does not fit with the existing regional mapping.
• As a relatively new mapper, your edit history does not quite yet justify a "blank slate" state until you can demonstrate more macro-level mapping such as larger-scale river systems, larger natural areas, more detailed agricultural areas, etc.

All that said, I would suggest you consider AR120-47 instead. While the state does not have direct frontage on the Lakes, the eastern boundary of the state is on a major river that can still sustain some pre-railroad trade and settlement as you had planned, and as a few degrees of latitude further north it better fits your proposed climate and agricultural expectations. Additionally, the eastern half of the state has a lot of legacy mapping from previous mappers -- including a pretty comprehensive river network, a basic framework of key highways and railways, and a Midwest-style PLSS land survey already completed; this could serve as a suitable framework for you to get started with as you gain more experience mapping and as you get more accustomed to the Federal States and the existing regional plans. The western half of the state is still more of a blank slate to work with, so you'll still have plenty of freedom and liberty to create your own plan for that half of the state. Historically speaking, the land west of the "mountains" in this area (although the mountains are very low, think of the Driftless Area of the U.S. Midwest) would have been a later addition to your state as part of a "purchase" of land for a railway corridor; as such, as per your current request, you can still have some degree of internal conflict between different parts of the state. Finally, AR120-47 has five active neighbors surrounding the state, if you are interested in a more collaborative mapping experience.

If you are interested in applying for AR120-47 instead, feel free to create a sketch and modify this application as necessary. I hope you consider this option, as I believe it's beneficial for all involved. (Also, please don't hesitate to get a bit more creative with place names -- as someone knowledgeable of the State of Iowa, many of the names you've chosen are quite familiar.) -TheMayor (talk) 02:43, 11 August 2023 (UTC)