So, I'm working on my world map, and I'm having trouble making my coastlines realistic. Here's what they look like right now:
I want to make the coastlines of my continents more varied and realistic. I want to make it so that some of them are smooth, and some of them are rough. I know that plate tectonics, erosion, and sea level all play a part. My questions are:
How exactly do plate tectonics define the smoothness of a coast? (I already have the tectonics, so no worries.)
How does erosion affect a coast's roughness or smoothness?
Which areas are likely to have more erosion than others?
How does sea level define the smoothness of a coastline?
Have I managed to accidentally avoid needing to worry about sea level?
How would I compensate for the distortions of doing these changes on a map (as opposed to a globe)?
If you'd like to just fake it, here's a tutorial from the Cartographer's Guild on how to make nice-looking coastlines in GIMP. I like to use this method to give me a general idea, and then modify it as necessary.
alynnidalar wrote:If you'd like to just fake it, here's a tutorial from the Cartographer's Guild on how to make nice-looking coastlines in GIMP. I like to use this method to give me a general idea, and then modify it as necessary.
Erm, thanks but no thanks. I was kind of hoping for answers to my questions. If you have any, or know of any sources, I would appreciate it.
alynnidalar wrote:If you'd like to just fake it, here's a tutorial from the Cartographer's Guild on how to make nice-looking coastlines in GIMP. I like to use this method to give me a general idea, and then modify it as necessary.
Wow, this is a really nice tutorial
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Axiem wrote:I'm not sure what is meant by a "smooth" coastline. Can you provide an example or three from Earth of what you mean?
Basically, what I'm going for is that, on the scale of a world map, some coastlines appear more rougher and "fractal" than others. Look at a world map; some coastlines are relatively smooth, while others are more jagged.
Axiem wrote:I'm not sure what is meant by a "smooth" coastline. Can you provide an example or three from Earth of what you mean?
Basically, what I'm going for is that, on the scale of a world map, some coastlines appear more rougher and "fractal" than others. Look at a world map; some coastlines are relatively smooth, while others are more jagged.
What you're looking for is basically snowfall and prior glaciations
Axiem wrote:I'm not sure what is meant by a "smooth" coastline. Can you provide an example or three from Earth of what you mean?
Basically, what I'm going for is that, on the scale of a world map, some coastlines appear more rougher and "fractal" than others. Look at a world map; some coastlines are relatively smooth, while others are more jagged.
What you're looking for is basically snowfall and prior glaciations
So, how do snowfall and prior glaciations affect coastlines?
"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know.
Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour.
Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing with land that is really just nearly-submerged mountains. These will obviously look like mountains (ie jagged and ridgy) unless they've had time to erode.
Salmoneus wrote:"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know.
Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour.
Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing with land that is really just nearly-submerged mountains. These will obviously look like mountains (ie jagged and ridgy) unless they've had time to erode.
Oh, right. Sorry.
Anyways, now I know that glaciation and sea level affect coastlines and their contours (I assume that's the term for roughness/smoothness?) Anyways, are those the main factors, or is there anything else I should know?
Salmoneus wrote:"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know.
Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour.
Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing with land that is really just nearly-submerged mountains. These will obviously look like mountains (ie jagged and ridgy) unless they've had time to erode.
Oh, right. Sorry.
Anyways, now I know that glaciation and sea level affect coastlines and their contours (I assume that's the term for roughness/smoothness?) Anyways, are those the main factors, or is there anything else I should know?
Rivers produce deltas, but that's about it. Those make the most obvious features of the textures of coastlines.
Salmoneus wrote:"Glacier" isn't an obscure subject to google, you know.
Glaciers create steep-sided, flat-bottomed valleys all over the place. When sea levels rise, these in turn create fjords, and more generally a jagged, scalloped contour.
Sea levels rises will also be important when you're dealing with land that is really just nearly-submerged mountains. These will obviously look like mountains (ie jagged and ridgy) unless they've had time to erode.
Oh, right. Sorry.
Anyways, now I know that glaciation and sea level affect coastlines and their contours (I assume that's the term for roughness/smoothness?) Anyways, are those the main factors, or is there anything else I should know?
Rivers produce deltas, but that's about it. Those make the most obvious features of the textures of coastlines.
Textures. Got it.
So, glaciation, sea level, and rivers are what determine the texture of coastlines. Got it. Thanks!
I imagine currents and wind patterns would have an impact as well. Certainly those are important factors in erosion.
Human activity could also shape coasts. I don't mean things like global warming (although if that's a factor in your world, it certainly could have an impact), but building dams, dredging, runoff from farms, dikes, etc. all change the shape of the land, how currents and rivers flow, what's in the water, how much sediment is around, etc.
alynnidalar wrote:I imagine currents and wind patterns would have an impact as well. Certainly those are important factors in erosion.
Human activity could also shape coasts. I don't mean things like global warming (although if that's a factor in your world, it certainly could have an impact), but building dams, dredging, runoff from farms, dikes, etc. all change the shape of the land, how currents and rivers flow, what's in the water, how much sediment is around, etc.
I'm not sure if those have an effect on a macro-scale though. It might be important in certain locations though. I remember going to Cancun one year, and then two years later returning. We stayed at the same hotel both times, but the first time the beach was a long strip of sand; the second time it was interrupted by a lagoon, produced by a hurricane that had come through the region
If you have places with erodable material and a bunch of winds/current, coastlines tend towards being more straight and/or more softly curved at a scale where it matters if you are doing regional maps, but can probably ignore it on global maps. Places like Gascogne, the west coast of Jutland, and the Curonian spit are examples of this.
These effects can sometimes produce other types of features than just straight stretches though, if a current going parallel to the coast hits a place where the coast suddenly changes then it will deposit material there. This is mostly notable on a much smaller scale though. This can either make a straight line, a somewhat curvy line, or a line that is so curvy that it constantly colllides with itself and starts anew. Sometimes this can go on for quite a while and you get something like the Hel peninsula, which is quite big.
A few other similar pheanomena driven by similar processes: An island may be connected to the mainland or to other islands. Spits may collide and produce new land/lakes over time.
Warning: Anything I post may be ninja-edited up to half an hour after posting.