Falkreath Hold

Falkreath Hold is located in the southwestern corner of Skyrim and features a number of notable geographical features. Falkreath Hold is comprised of a large pine forest and small hills surrounded by large mountains.

Falkreath Hold highlited in the southwest area of the map

(Image from elderscrolls.wikia.com)

The most prominent feature of Falkreath Hold is Lake Ilinalta.Lake Ilinalta is a major part of Skyrims Hydrosphere. It receives much of its water from the large amount of rain Falkreath Hold gets, as well as the constant runnoff from the surrounding mountain ranges. Lake Ilinalta drains into the White River which runs northeast through Skyrim, eventually draining into the ocean. The water is then evaporated off the ocean and eventually returns to Lake Ilinalta, thus completing the Hydrosphere. The White River is an example of a dendritic drainage patter, meaning it branches off into other smaller streams as it flows to the ocean.

Lake Ilinalta

(Image from elderscrolls.wikia.com)

The beginning of the White River, flowing out of Lake Ilinalta

A sky view of Lake Ilinalta

(Image from elderscrolls.wikia.com)

Another notable geographic feature of Falkreath Hold is the forest that covers it. This thick pine forest makes Falkreath Hold a transport limited landscape, meaning that weathering here is slowed down by the amount of vegetation present.

A view of the pine forest in Falkreath Hold

While exploring the pine forest I noticed an example of root wedging. A few pine trees were growing out of a formation of rock. The growth of the trees roots will eventually lead to physical weathering on the rock.

Pine trees seen here growing out of the rock formation

Falkreath Hold is an important area to the people of Skyrim because it is a major source of fresh water, as well as lumber from the pine forest used in building homes and other structures.

Images not from elderscrolls.wikia.com are in-game screen captures taken by myself.





Blog Post #1: Eastmarch Caldera

The Eastmarch is an eastern region of Skyrim home to many unique geographical features. I wanted to explore this area of Skyrim because it has an abundance of hot springs, and I was curious as to how they might have formed.

A map of Skyrim with the Eastmarch highlited on the eastern side

(Image from elderscrolls.wikia.com)

Upon exploring the hot springs in the Eastmarch, I noticed that the entire area was very large and flat for the most part. I also found many geysers dotted throughout the hot springs. This large area of hot springs is a massive caldera. This would explain the formation of so many hot springs and geysers. The region is also somewhat circular and surrounded by large mountain ranges on either side. The caldera is very similar to Yellowstone.

Hot springs in the Eastmarch caldera

A large geyser in the hot springs

Another interesting thing I found near the immediate center of the caldera was a large rock formation that looked to be a rhyolite dome leftover from a volcanic eruption. The formation itself is called Bonestrewn Crest, named after the many mammoth bones strewn about the rock formation. It reminded me of the building rhyolite formation in Mt. St. Helens.

The rhyolite formation in the center of the caldera

A sky view of the Eastmarch caldera noting the position of Bonestrewn Crest in the center

One other thing I noticed while searching the landscape was this fault in the ground most likely from compression.

The fault shown here with the ground on the left about a foot higher than on the right

The people that live in this part of the Eastmarch make use of the warmer temperatures in this volcanic area to establish hunting camps where game such as sabre cats, bears, mammoth and elk are hunted. The large rhyolite formation in the center of the caldera is also a roosting spot for dragons.

-All above images except for the map are in-game screen captures done by myself.

An Introduction

Hello! My name is Jacob Hirschman and this is a blog I am creating as a project for my Geography class.

This blog will observe and document some of the geographical features found in the land of Syrim, the northernmost region of the continent known as Tamriel. Skyrim is a fictional land from a game series called The Elder Scrolls.

Skyrim is an immensely detailed virtual world complete with numerous geographical features. From snowy mountaintops to steamy swamps Skyrim has it all. As seen in the image above Skyrim is also well mapped for a fictional world. This makes it very easy to plan where to find and travel to various geographical features in the game. Skyrim is laced with rivers, lakes, mountains, and also features many small villages and cities. It is similar to Europe in medieval times in terms of technology. Walking through the world of Skyrim from a geographers perspective should open my eyes to new things I would have normally missed. This is a masterpiece of a game and I hope to show some of its unique features in this blog.

Image From: playstationlifestyle.net