File:Gor-map-simplified.svg

Summary

An intentionally ultra-simplified and un-detailed map of the known areas of the planet Gor (the setting of John Norman's "Gor" series of science fiction books), based on the verbal descriptions of Gorean geography given in the books. Note that no official author-approved map of Gor was ever released (a map was included in the German translation of book 16 in the series, but this was not endorsed by Norman, and contradicts the text of the Gor books in several ways).

Only a small number of cities and islands are shown on the map -- just those few cities and islands which are of major civilizational importance in Gorean history (Ar, Cos, Turia), and also some port cities located where rivers meet the ocean (Lydius at the mouth of the Laurius river which marks the southern boundary of the northern forests; Schendi at the mouth of the Nyoka river, flowing from lake Ushindi, with the other two large lakes of the equatorial jungles inland; and Port Kar at the northwest of the Vosk river delta).

There is no attempt to use geographically realistic shapes (e.g. indented coastlines, meandering rivers, etc.). Instead, the basic continental coastline, rivers which flow directly into the sea, mountain ranges, and major vegetation-climate zones (i.e. the northern forests, equatorial jungles, arctic zone, and Tahari desert) are all depicted with only very simple geometric shapes (straight lines, circular arcs, etc.). The Vosk river is represented by a slightly thicker line than other rivers, and the Voltai range (the continental "backbone") is represented by a doubled row of mountain symbols.

The area of the main northern-hemisphere city-states (or the "northern civilized cities of known Gor", as it's referred to in Assassins of Gor, book 5 of the series) is where the main default form of Gorean culture is typically practiced (as opposed to somewhat divergent or "barbarian" cultures in outlying regions). This is labeled on the map as "Civilized Gor" (i.e. generally the area south of the northern forests, west of the Voltai mountains, and north of the equatorial rainforests, excluding the swamps of the Vosk river delta, but including the islands of Cos and Tyros).

The Tamber Gulf (not labeled on the map) is an area of relatively shallow seas extending from Port Kar north, with the city of Ko-ro-ba inland.

There are doubtless some remaining inaccuracies with respect to Norman's original intentions, even taking into account the map's extreme simplification. The Tahari and Barrens are shown as filling up the entire area to the east of the Voltai and Thentis mountains, but they may be confined to more limited zones. Note that the narrow "corridor" between the Ven Highlands(?) and the southern Voltai is partly just an artifact of showing mountain ranges running only in east-west and north-south directions, and so probably does not exist in Norman's original geographical conception of Gor. However, maps which correctly locate the Tahari to the south and southeast of the Voltai and make the equatorial jungles large (in order to allow for undiscovered regions within them) will generally show a narrowing somewhere between civilized Gor and the plains of the southern hemisphere. (The jungles cannot join up with the Voltai and/or Tahari to block the path between northern and southern hemispheres, as was shown on the German map, because of the trade caravans between Turia and the north, the past attempt by the Wagon Peoples to conquer Ar, the keep of Stones of Turmus "under the banner and shield of Turia" located "within the realm of Ar" of book 11, etc. which are described in the books.) Note that Norman probably hadn't filled in the equatorial jungles and the Tahari when he was first writing the book 4 in the series (Nomads), which explains the split of the Cartius into two unconnected rivers, and certain discrepancies between some of the geographical descriptions in book 4 and those later in the series...

The Barrens are not actually barren in the sense of being deserts or badlands; however, they are mostly treeless, and agriculture as practiced by Goreans is only fruitful and productive in limited areas.

Norman mentions the "distant eastern edge" of the Tahari (more than 2,000 pasangs distant from the main inhabited area of the Tahari, across the "dune country"), and the Turian outpost of Turmas at its southeastern corner, but provides no indication of what is located to the east of the Tahari (except that caravans sometimes travel along its eastern edge).

An area of complete geographic ignorance at the northeast corner of the map has a northward-pointing arrow and the symbol of the three moons of the planet Gor superimposed over it (see <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gorean-collar-3-moons-emblem.svg" title="File:Gorean-collar-3-moons-emblem.svg">File:Gorean-collar-3-moons-emblem.svg</a>).

Licensing

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