Pahl
Pahl | |
|---|---|
| Capital | Alanis |
| Government | |
• Governor | Weronika Preece |
| Population | |
• Estimate | 17,000,000 |
Pahl is an administrative district of Zamastan. Pahl is the largest Administrative District in area, the third most populous of the five districts. The eastern and southern borders of Pahl contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller island ranges are found throughout the district. The western half of Pahl is characterized by prairie terrain, badlands, and forest. Pahl is bordered by Redeemer’s Land to the west and Zian to the north.
The economy is primarily based on agriculture, including ranching and cereal grain farming. Other significant economic resources include oil, gas, coal, hard rock mining, and lumber. The health care, service, and government sectors also are significant to the state's economy.
The district's fastest-growing sector is tourism. Nearly 30 million tourists annually visit national parks, the cities of Emerald and Alanis, and other attractions.
Geography
Topography
The District's topography is roughly defined by a Continental Divide, which splits much of the district into distinct eastern and western regions. Most of Pahl's 100 or more named mountain ranges are in the district's eastern half. The Obsoroka and Wolftooth ranges are in the district's south-central part.
The divide's western and northern section, where the mountains rapidly give way to prairie, is part of the Pahlan Front. The front is most pronounced in the Lewis Range. Due to the configuration of mountain ranges in the District's National Parks, the Northern Divide crosses this region and turns east in Pahl at Triple Divide Peak. It causes the Little Tribe River, Pahl River, and St. Mary River to flow west into Zian. There they join the Zian River, which ultimately empties into the Agrimai Ocean
West and north of this transition zone are the expansive and sparsely populated Pahlan Plains, with tableland prairies, smaller island mountain ranges, and badlands. The isolated island ranges east of the Divide include the Bear Paw Mountains, Bull Mountains, Castle Mountains, and—in the district's southeastern corner, the Long Pines. Many of these isolated eastern ranges were created about 120 to 66 million years ago when magma welling up from the interior cracked and bowed the earth's surface here.
The Timber Creek Formation in Northeast Pahl is a major source of dinosaur fossils.
Rivers, lakes and reservoirs
Pahl has thousands of named rivers and creeks, 450 miles (720 km) of which are known for "blue-ribbon" trout fishing.
Pahl's water resources provide for recreation, hydropower, crop and forage irrigation, mining, and water for human consumption. Pahl is one of few geographic areas in the world whose rivers form parts of three major watersheds (i.e. where two continental divides intersect). Its rivers feed the Agrimai Ocean. The watersheds divide at Triple Divide Peak in Wolftooth National Park.
Flora and fauna
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Vegetation of the district includes lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, larch, spruce, aspen, birch, red cedar, hemlock, ash, alder, rocky mountain maple and cottonwood trees. Forests cover about 25% of the district. Flowers native to Pahl include asters, bitterroots, daisies, lupins, poppies, primroses, columbine, lilies, orchids, and dryads. Several species of sagebrush and cactus and many species of grasses are common. Many species of mushrooms and lichens are also found in the district.
Pahl is home to a diverse array of fauna that includes 14 amphibian, 90 fish, 117 mammal, 20 reptile, and 427 bird species. Additionally, over 10,000 invertebrate species are present, including 180 mollusks and 30 crustaceans. Pahl has the largest grizzly bear population in Zamastan. Pahl hosts five federally endangered species–black-footed ferret, whooping crane, least tern, pallid sturgeon, and white sturgeon and seven threatened species including the grizzly bear, Zamastanian lynx, and bull trout. The Pahl Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks manages fishing and hunting seasons for at least 17 species of game fish, including seven species of trout, walleye, and smallmouth bass and at least 29 species of game birds and animals including ring-neck pheasant, grey partridge, elk, pronghorn antelope, mule deer, whitetail deer, gray wolf, and bighorn sheep.
