Atlantis

&nbsp For the novel, see The United States of Atlantis. For the series, see Atlantis (series)

Atlantis refers both to the continent that lies in the Atlantic Ocean between Europe and northern Terranova and to the United States of Atlantis, the country that occupies the continent in its entirety.



History
Atlantis was originally discovered by the Breton fisherman François Kersauzon circa 1452. He promised a fellow fisherman, the Englishman Edward Radcliffe, to guide him to the location in exchange for a third of his load of cod that year. Radcliffe agreed and eventually returned with his family and a few others to create a settlement, New Hastings. Soon afterwards, Kersauzon would found his own city, Cosquer, and Basque fishermen would erect their own town of Gernika in the south. These settlements in turn gave birth to, and were ultimately eclipsed by, substantial English, French, and Spanish colonial holdings on the island.

Geography
Politically, the United States of Atlantis is divided into states. States include Avalon, Cosquer, Croydon, Freetown, Gernika, Hanover, Nouveau Redon, New Hastings, New Marseille, and Penzance. Nearly all of the states in Atlantis bear the name of the founding city in the area.

The United States of Atlantis is divided into distinct regions based primarily on their foundational history. North of the Stour River is the former English Atlantis, containing the earliest settlements in Atlantis. These states have historically been the political epicenter of the continent. South of the Stour are the formerly French and Spanish Atlantis. While the south has been settled by English migrants from the north much of the French and Spanish character remains. Even native English speakers of those regions have a slight French or Spanish lilt when they speak.

Climate
Atlantis features a varied but generally warm climate, with Spanish Atlantis being very muggy.

Flora and Fauna
The Flora and Fauna of Atlantis are somewhat similar to their European and Terranovan cousins, though they have evolved to be better suited to the diverse climate that Atlantis experiences. Some clear examples of this evolutionary divergence are the honkers; these giant bipedal flightless birds would at first glance resemble emus and ostriches, though upon further study, and have much in common with the moa bird of New Zealand and Canadian geese. Another example are the giant Atlantean robins, which behave in a manner similar to ravens, but have brick-colored plumage similar to, but noticably less vivid than, the European redbreast. The Continent's redwood trees are likely descended from local conifers to take advantage of the warmer and more humid climate. One of the other noteworthy creatures is the red-crested eagle, a giant bird of prey that has been known to attack full grown humans and feeds off of Honkers. Crocodiles, locally known as alligators, seem almost unchanged compared with other known species. Other species native to Atlantis include very large slugs, poisonous salamanders, many varities of parrots and frogs, and another flightless bird named "oil-thrush," which evolved the same body structure and ecological role as the kiwi of New Zealand.

The only mammals native to Atlantis are bats, but by the 18th century, many other mammals had been introduced by the Europeans, among them cats, dogs, cattle, rabbits, mice, and pigs, as well as chickens and Terranovan turkeys.

Atlantis is also home to so-called "barrel-trees," plants which resemble palm trees. Barrel-trees may be some kind of cycad.