Alva: Difference between revisions

|established_date1 = cir. 1200 - 800 BCE

|established_event2 = Alvan Empire

|established_date2 = c. 1125 - 1254 AD

|established_event3 = Alvan Confederation

|established_date3 = June 4th, 1850 AD

|established_event4 = Great Khanate of Alva established

|established_date4 = October 22nd, 1992 AD

The '''Great Khanate of Alva''' is a republic located in the north-central region of the continent of [[Yasteria]], sharing borders with [[Triga]], [[Numenar]], and [[Hama]]. Primarily populated by elves, Alva claims to be the successor to the Khanate of Alva that existed in some form as early as 1200 BC, and claims that Alva is the "original homeland" of elves on [[Urth]].

==Economy==

[[File:Oil well.jpg|right|thumb|300px|An oil well in southern Alva.]]

The economy of Alva is based almost entirely in the sectors of resource extraction and energy. Petroleum deposits were discovered in Alva in the mid-18th century and have been the country's largest and most lucrative export since. In the 21st century, Alva began to extract and process its oil sands and oil shale as well as traditional sources of petroleum. Due to Alva's central location on the continent, oil drilled and refined in Alva can be shipped all across Yasteria by rail or road, and from the port in Urgabom it can be sent by tanker ship all over the world. Alva has a large logistics industry to support the transport of oil as well as other products, and has one of the largest merchant marines as measured per capita than most countries on Urth.

In addition to oil, Alva has extensive reserves of metals and minerals such as iron, copper, nickel, uranium, potassium, manganese, and aluminum, among others. Mining and refining these minerals is the dominant industry in the more mountainous eastern and northern regions of the country. Many mines and refineries have significant numbers of foreign workers in addition to the Alvans they employ, as even though the unemployment rate in Alva is typically low, there are too few workers in the country to support the demand for the industry. Work visas for foreigners are politically popular in Alva because they allow the industry to keep wages lower, although it is difficult even for people who have worked in Alva for several years to gain citizenship.

In addition to fuel resources themselves, Alva is a net exporter of electricity to the region. Oil and nuclear power plants are common, as are wind turbines and hydroelectric power. Electricity is cheaper in Alva than in most neighboring countries, and even rural and nomadic areas have easy access to electricity.

While the more arid areas to the far east and north, as well as the steppes in the center of the country, are not well-suited for industrial agriculture, a sizeable percentage of the population there still lives a traditional nomadic lifestyle, and horse culture is still very important. Herds of animals like sheep, goats, and cattle are common sights in these regions, and there is some exporting of wool and textile products from Alva. In the west of the country, closer to the sea, the climate is somewhat more temperate and the soil more fertile. The most common agricultural crops in Alva are wheat and soybeans.

==Geography==

[[File:Naadam rider 2.jpg|left|thumb|300px|A child in Alva learns to ride a horse in the central steppe region.]]

Being located near the center of the continent, Alva would be significantly more arid than it is were it not for the Sea of Alva to its west. The sea moderates the climate and provides moisture to the area. Urgabom, the largest city in the country, is only one of several permanent or semi-permanent settlements that have existed on the coast of the Sea of Alva throughout history, and the attractiveness of this climate compared to the relative harshness of the east is part of what drove the traditional differences in culture between the two regions. Today, the west of Alva remains more populous and less mobile than the east.

The largest geographic region of the country is the central steppe, a region of broad, open grassland. Here, temperatures vary much more widely than in the east and can exist at both extremes even in the same day. It is in the central steppe that the Alvan horse culture first emerged, and some of the world's only wild horses still roam the open steppe. In the modern era, the number of permanent settlements in the steppe has increased significantly and continues to rise as towns have risen up around industrial areas. The steppe is home to most of Alva's conventional oil deposits as well as most of its refineries and factories. To the far south of the central steppe, the climate becomes warmer and much more arid, with grassland giving way to shrubland. This region on the southern border of the country is particularly rich in oil deposits as well as in oil sands, the latter of which have recently become a new focus for the Alvan petroleum industry.

The far east, and to a lesser extent the far north, is higher in elevation and more rough in terrain than the central steppe, and although these regions are often called "mountainous" the peaks are older and eroded and more accurately referred to as highlands. These regions are where most of Alva's mineral resources are located, as well as its deposits of oil shale. The highlands also have some forests, including several large clonal colonies of aspen that are among the oldest and largest living organisms on the planet. Today, these aspen are threatened by industrial activity and development in the region.