Huckleberry Springs

I want to share with you a few interesting concepts I studied while developing the map of my fictional US-state like territory. The first of these is the concept of a linear settlement, which is a line of houses developed strictly along a long line due to outside constraints. Here's an example in Northern New Brunswick- linear settlements are very common in Atlantic Canada:

 

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=14/47.9719/-66.4503

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linear_settlement

This isn't so much an urban planning concept as it is a natural form of development. Anybody who has studied older cities knows that development outside of the city center often entails houses developing along ribbons connecting the city to neighboring cities or towns. This is known as a ribbon development, and is fairly similar, but contrasted in that linear settlements are most often independent towns while ribbon settlements are most often extensions of the cities they sprawl out from. In the case of my linear settlement, Huckleberry Springs, the two constraints were two mountain ridges surrounding a thin valley.

This linear settlement was developed as a mining town within this valley. The downtown will likely sprawl out along either the primary road, or a nearby road if developed later. Either way, it should be in a relatively central location, with houses getting more sparse as you depart the main road thanks to the geographic constraint posed by the mountains. I will provide further updates once I get the chance to fully develop this town and its quarries, but Idaho Springs, CO is a clear inspiration that should help you understand what I mean (just imagine that the motorway is not present):
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=16/39.7426/-105.5186

To the southeast, steep, rocky mountains are represented by heath. This does not necessarily mean that these mountains are above the tree line, just that it is impossible for trees to grow on top of them because of their geometry. Compare this to the Pointe de Banc Fleury, a mountain in the alpine Haute-Savoie department of France, where mountains are represented on heath as a map because there is only room for small wooded vegetation and not trees. These mountains are a good example, because they are relatively low. This is an example of mountain ranges with relatively high prominence for their altitude, as the average elevation of the town Faverges to the south is 1,500 meters lower despite being only 3,000 meters away, meaning that from town to peak there is a grade of about 27%. If we take a similar number for Huckleberry Springs, which is slightly less prominent but closer, we realize that a lot of switchbacks are needed for a highway to run through it. In the US, highways in mountainous regions have a maximum grade of 7%, and a maximum speed of 60 mph. While there are some crazy streets in Wales and New Zealand, one of which (Baldwin Street), has a grade of 35%(!), for the most part Huckleberry Springs will rely on switchbacks to make the drive to the quarry safer and easier.

Here is a map and picture of the Pointe de Banc Fleury. You can see some trees on the less steep side, but not enough to designate it as a forest

https://www.flickr.com/photos/o_0/42099181700

The last thing I want to touch on is my work on developing a realistic volcano. Though this volcano is inactive, you can still see the lahars surrounding it from an eruption a century ago. To the north, there will be a combination of wetlands and scrub, and a thick layer of scrub will surround the southern side of the volcano. Because scrublands develop quickly, you'd see them return first to a volcano before you'd see reforestation. The volcano would need to be closely monitored, because another eruption could mean a great deal of damage done to the town of Huckleberry Springs and the surrounding area, despite the mountain ridge protecting it. The main human footprint around the volcano would consist of orchards along the flatter areas, such as the stream valleys. Below is a picture of the mapped volcano:





                                                                             Check out the whole area here: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=12/-36.0842/140.8543

Thanks for reading