Pern - Human Settlement Patterns

Human Settlement Patterns

At the time of colonization, the eastern portion of the Southern Continent was selected as the most hospitable site to initiate the spread of civilization. Accordingly, Landing was established near the dormant volcano Mount Garben, on a fertile plateau near the Jordan River. Suitable stakeholds were established across much of the Southern Continent.

The arrival of Thread and the eruption of Mount Garben, both consequences of a close pass by the Red Star, forced the evacuation of first Landing, and then the entire Southern Continent, to Fort Hold on the Northern Continent. Circumstances then constrained human settlement for the next twenty-five centuries to the tectonically stable, cave-riddled Northern Continent. During the Ninth Pass of the Red Star, population pressure and improved technology made possible the recolonization of the Southern Continent and the rediscovery of the original settlements along with the creation of brand new ones such as the telescope project on the oft forgotten Western Continent mentioned towards the end of The Skies of Pern.