The Lands of Laska
"Laska" is a vague term, geographically speaking. To the Californians and Desereti, it is a mystical land where the sun never sets, where giants roam and build their cities upon the backs of whales. Most do know it is from here that they receive many of the luxury goods they take for granted- ivory, whalebone, balleen, exotic pelts. On one occasion, centuries ago, San Francisco was even sacked by a contingent of Laskan raiders. To the Pacific Northwesterners, however, it is a very real, and very strictly defined region: Namely, everything that sits north of Cold Harbour, a port at the tip of Victoria Island. For the coastal peoples of what was once British Columbia, though they would certainly consider themselves Laskans (the consequence of years of trading, intermarrying and raiding), they do not consider themselves inhabitants of the true Lands of Laska. For the ethnic Laskans, Laska is everything south of the Alaskan Range (including the peninsula), and everything along the coast till you hit the southern tip of Graham Island.
Laska is a land that knows hardship like no other. For half the year,there is practically no sun, and the snow comes down hard. For the other half of the year, however, the sun shines, shines, shines. This constant sunshine allows Laska to be surprisingly agriculturally productive. Nonetheless, agriculture is incredibly difficult and marginal. The Laskans have developed a number of techniques to maximize output, including mound-building, to create localized microclimates, and constant fertilization of the soil with wood-ash and lime among others. Thanks to these intensive efforts, the amount of cultivated land has gone from a mere 1,280 square miles to a whopping 3,000 square miles, comparable to Norway.
Laska is divided into two regions: the pan and the handle.
The Handle stretches far south, terminating at the farthest outlying island, Graham Island. Hundreds of tiny islands lay in what is now know as the Alzandar Arcipelago. These are Laska's most potentially fertile regions, at its southern extreme even holding host to temperate rainforest comparable to that of Cascadia.
Ostensibly, the largest population center in this region is Joono, home to some 10,000 people, a major port. The only other major city in archipelago is the port town of Kechikan. Sitting at the southernmost end of the archipelago, it is the first stop off for Cascadian ships, and where many hand off their goods to Laskan merchants. Otherwise, most of the population is scattered among the various islands in fishing, farming and hunting communities.
The Pan is roughly centered around the port-city of Ankrage and the outlying regions, which tend to be the most agriculturally productive region of the state, consequently making Ankrage the population and cultural center of Laska. Ankrage is commonly regarded by the people of the West Coast as the "End of the World".
Beyond the Laskan Range is Eskimoland. Contrary to Californian and Cascadian myth, it is not host to the lost city of Hoth. In fact, there are almost no cities at all or, for that matter, no Laskans- here, natives make up the majority of the population, both Athabaskan and Inuit, though they are all termed "Eskimo" by the Laskans (despite the fact that they have significant Tlingit, Athabaskan and Inuit admixture themselves). Here, the peoples eke out a pastoral existence, herding domesticated caribou (a practice that is starting to compete with cattle in Laska). Along the coasts, whalers and fishers dominate as they always have. Agriculture is practiced only in the Yukon Delta region.