Lay of the land (a description of lightning country)

Geography

Of the Five Great nations, Lightning Country is the furthest north and features a captivating landscape the dynamically changes from south to north. From the southern mixed forests and grasslands to the great mountains and the taiga biome of the north, the land of lightning is truly a spectacle of nature and the outdoors. With temperate summers and harsh winters most of the Lightning Country is live-able.

Fertile valleys and grasslands allow for a variety of hearty crops to be grown, and large forests provide wood for fuel, boats, homes, and a myriad of things. The majority of citizens in the Lightning Country tend to live in these valleys, allowing them access to farm land and the age old mountain-ranges which hold a variety of important ores and minerals within them- their goods a famous trade of the Lightning Country that allowed it's exponential growth into an economic superpower.

Surrounded by seas, the Lightning Country holds a dominance on the fishing market that is only beat out by the Water Country. Being a peninsula, there are quite a few rivers and tributaries connecting the main land with the seas, however there is a lack of fresh water lakes, the largest one residing outside of Kumogakure. Besides this, the only real fresh bodies of water are small ones in the valleys of mountain ranges.

Ecology

Being the great Northern country, the Land of Lightning is often incorrectly thought to be a frozen tundra by the uneducated. The land of Lightning has several biomes however, dynanimically changing from south to north.

The Southern province of Natsukyou is home to temperate climate mixed forests. These forests consist of a variety of trees, the main ones being oak, cherry, and hickory. These trees produce the vast majority of hardwood in Lightning Country and the Natsukyou province is carefule to maintain a sustainable model of woodcutting.

Above Natsukyou is the temperate Kumogakure and Gyorou provinces. Kumogakure province is home to the largest lake in the land of lightning, fertile valleys, hills, and the fifth highest mountain peak in Lightning country. The western shore and hills are also home to a large amount of magnetite, otherwise known as "black sand", an oxidized iron ore used to create tamahagane steel, which is refined by smiths in the mountain-top city of Kumogakure and cold forged (forging via Magnetic Release) into katana of legendary craftsmanship. Across small mountain ranges and hills lies Gyorou in the east, with land more suitable to growing classic grains and a multitude of fishing ports stationed on the eastern coast. This ecology allows Gyorou to be produce a large percentage of all food consumed within the Lightning country.

Further north is the midlands, and home to the Yamashita province and the Etchu Province. Neither province is spectacular in it's fertility, the largest plant life hailing from small taiga forests along the mountains. The mountain ranges however are extremely ore-rich, making the midlands a hot spot for Iron, Coal, Silver, Gold, and other mineral resources. Winters in the midlands tend to be the harshest in the entire peninsula due to the troughs that are often created by pressure and temperature shifts on the north and southern sides of Lightning Country.

Finally reaching the northern most tip of Lightning Country, Shuunou and Saishuu province are home to the landscapes Kumogakure is generally know for, sprawling pine forests, snowy tundra-esque conditions, and the coolest average temperatures found on the continent throughout the year. Home to wolves, large populations of moose, elk, and wild boar, the people of the far north are ferocious hunters that are conditioned to live in the harshest of environments.

People and Culture

The classical population of Lightning Country varies just like it's dynamic and diverse landscape. In the south, people tend to have tan skin due to outdoor lifestyles. (Farmers, Fishers, and Lumberjacks.) This also remains true for those of the temperate mountains, the high elevation exposing them to high levels of infrared radiation- essentially lots of sunlight! In the midlands fair skin tones are quite common, a large amount of life spent indoors, in caves, and below mountains mining. The north is home to biting winds and the extremely fair skinned. Use to ice fishing and hunting wild boar, the people of the northern provinces are extraordinary bowman and trackers- their skills easily transitioning to battle.

There are newer populations beyond that of the classics however, and refugees consisting of freed slaves from Rock Country migrated north a few decades ago, and were extremely influential in the founding of Kumogakure village. They are known for their particularly dark skin and are generally found within the boundaries of Kumogakure province.

Though the end of the old age and the ushering of the new age has lead to the mixing of some of these people, the tension between the provinces never truly subsided, and as such, many of the provinces tend to keep to their own cultures and traditions. This directly effects the lack of any standard holiday for Lightning Country beyond standard Winter and Summer festivals. A notable example of this is the Northern province, which does not observe any holidays due to geographical, ecological, and cultural differences.