Scalloped Gulch

Scalloped Gulch is a deep canyon system running roughly north to south between the central plateau and the eastern districts. Its name comes from the shape of its walls: layered, curved bays of exposed terracotta and stone, scalloped out by wind and water over a timescale the Archives cannot estimate.

Known Role

The Gulch is the single greatest natural obstacle in The Forgelands. Every route between Savanna Villa and the Tortuga Monolith either crosses it or detours days around it. For that reason, it is also the most heavily surveyed terrain feature in the world: the Grand Rail Line must bridge it, and the bridge will be the largest single structure on the line.

Terrain Survey

The canyon runs approximately nine hundred blocks at its surveyed length, with walls dropping between forty and seventy blocks to the floor. The floor carries a seasonal stream, several exposed copper veins, and a scattering of cave mouths that have been marked but not fully explored. Three crossing candidates have been staked; the narrows at the canyon's waist is the current favorite.

Hazards

The cave mouths along the floor produce hostile mobs after dark, and the scalloped overhangs make the rim genuinely dangerous in places where the edge is undercut. Roric MacGruder, who assisted the second survey, refuses to go back, citing what he describes only as sounds from the lower caves.

Field Notes

The Gulch is beautiful in the early morning, when light fills the eastern bays. The survey notes record this fact twice, which for survey notes is effusive.