Landform

Where is it located?

How accessible is it?

What does this landform look like?

Describe it as if you were a traveler who just came across it.

What does it sound like?

Describe the landform using only sounds.

What does it smell like?

Write a scene where someone smells the landform before seeing it.

What is the "signature" feature of this landform?

In other words, what would everyone immediately recognize about this landform?

How does it connect or separate regions?

How does it guide trade, travel, or migration?

What kind of climate does it experience?

How extreme does it get?

What weather patterns or cycles are seen throughout the year?

What about one-off natural disasters, e.g. avalanches, droughts, etc.?

How do seasons affect it?

Describe its appearance in one season vs. another.

What natural resources are found here?

Are they renewable or finite?

What plants thrive on or around it?

How have they adapted to the environment?

What animals inhabit it?

In particular, what species are unique or symbolic of this landform?

How does the food web function here?

Who are the keystone species, and how do they shape survival?

How have people altered its ecology?

Consider if farming, logging, mining, etc. has changed its ecosystem.

How is the landform’s ecosystem distinct from its neighbors’?

In other words, what grows or lives here that doesn’t survive elsewhere?

What civilizations claim it?

How do people's identities reflect it, e.g. "people of the mountain," "children of the river," etc.?

What famous figures are tied to it?

Consider people who conquered, discovered, died upon it, etc.

How does it shape political or social organization in society?

For instance, do clans form around valleys, or leaders control passes?

What taboos or superstitions are associated with it?

And what were their origins?

How do outsiders view it?

Write the diary entry of a foreigner visiting the landform for the first time.

How was this landform created?

How might locals mythologize its origins differently than science would?

When was this landform...

Created? Discovered? Mapped?

How has it changed over time?

Write an excerpt from the first and latest recorded travelogue about the landform.

What role has this landform played in history?

If this landform could talk, what stories or secrets would it tell?

What role does the landform play in the larger world now?

How do people currently approach it?

How is it remembered in society today?

Conversely, how is it forgotten?