[Beth Gellert]

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

Location

Geletia is situated in the Indian Ocean, intersected by the Tropic of Capricorn. To the west lies Madagascar, a short distance to the north is the British Indian Ocean Territory, and further to the east may be found Australia.

Area

Territorial extent of home-ruled Geletian peoples extends to around 11,000,000 square kilometres.

Area is comparative to around two-thirds the size of Russia, eleven times the size of Egypt, or almost four times the size of Argentina.

Note: Several thousand square kilometre territory of former Regni clans administered by Azazia remains an issue of contention for many revolutionary groups in position to take power around the continent.

Land Boundaries

While there are many internal borders shared between centuries-old Geletian tribes, the only non-Geletian territory is in the form of an Azazian colony still disputed by some tribes (that, it can be argued, have no strong case), and, since this is based on a narrow peninsula, the total border is but a few kilometres long, connecting with Averni territory.

Climate

The Geletian climate, flung across such a large area with highlands and valleys hundreds of kilometres from near equatorial northern and sub-antarctic southern shores, is quite varied. There are tropical and sub-tropical regions in the eastern lands such as those of the Selgovae, sub-antarctic Pitovirii lands towards the southwest, and temperate, continental, and semi-arid lands between, often influenced by highland configuration and particularly the mountains of Sygenii and Silures regions.

Terrain

Hills dominate much of the continent, along with several large mountain regions containing many fertile valleys. There are some desert areas such as in the southeastern lands of the Parisii tribe, and a large part of the Pitovirii's territory is tundra.

Natural Resources

Copper (some of the world's largest reserves in the Sygenii mountains), iron ore, tin, tungsten, titanium, bauxite, some uranium, lead, gold, silver, precious stones, coal, oil, natural gas, various workable rock types, timber, arable land, wildlife, fish, hydropower potential.

Natural Hazards

Hazards vary greatly with region, but include tsunamis, droughts, earthquakes, some flooding, landslides, and fairly severe storms.

Many problems were exacerbated by the influence of the Kingdom and the spread of free market policies, and revolutionary movements draw much momentum from the drive to reform against these problems. Victories for low-bidders in housing and infrastructure, over-exploitation of forests for timber, over-development of vulnerable coastal resorts and seafront properties, vast regional inequality, and the desire to maintain pools of cheap labour have caused deaths almost certainly in the millions during earthquakes and tsunamis, causing landslides, and worsening isolation and ill-health in drought-vulnerable areas.

Proposals from the main revolutionary movements would see a return to communal living where it has been replaced by foreign-style housing, popular defence of forest resources and defences against both landslide and tsunami, and social equality drives with public works to properly distribute water resources, which are in fact quite ample on the continent as a whole.