If you missed the first post in this series, check it out here:

Geography for Worldbuilding, Part One

Last week you designed a map. You considered the placement of plate tectonics and added mountains to your landscape. Today we’re going to talk about how to decide where to put forests, lakes, and rivers and how those decisions will help you know what types of plants and animals exist in different places on your map.

Climate Zones and Weather

We’re going to start with climate and weather, since this greatly affects what is able to live where. What different temperature zones do you want in your world? Hot and cold regions will influence the biomes in your land, which will influence the physical geography, the flora and fauna, and where the majority of the people live.

If you want to design a storyworld with fantastical or severe weather patterns, I suggest spending some time studying weather systems, weather cells, and climate. But if you just want a fantasy world with some diversity of climate, one of the easiest ways to create climate zones on your map is to mimic those from earth.

If you have a globe, you can do this by cutting out the shape of your map to scale for your globe, then slice your paper until your map is able to spread out over the spherical object. This can give you an accurate idea of where the latitude and longitude of your world is on your globe, which can help you decide accurate climate

Once you have an idea of where your continent might exist on earth, then you can color your map based on earth’s global temperature map. See the image below for an example of what colors might look like.

If you want to get really detailed about climate, you can consult the Köppen climate classification, which was created by Wladimir Köppen. Click here to learn more about this on Wikipedia.

If you’re not up for the whole arts-and-crafts thing, you can get the same realism by eyeballing the climate zones in the right locations. An even simpler way is to simply say that it’s cold in the north and warm in the south. Or, if you want to write a southern hemisphere story like I did with the Kinsman Chronicles, do the opposite: cold in the south and warm in the north.

Coloring your map based on earth’s temperature map will give you an idea of what kind of climates and weather you might have in your world. Please note: it’s really important to keep scale in mind. If your entire fantasy map is only about the size of Texas, then you might not have much variation in climate zones.

Once you’ve done this, study your map and the colors you’ve put on it. Ask yourself which areas get a lot of rainfall and whether it’s cold or warm in those places. That, and the terrain you chose when you drew your mountains and coastlines, will help you determine biomes. Look to create areas that are wet and cold, wet and hot, dry and cold, and dry and hot. Then think about what that will create for each region. For example: Hot and dry areas will form deserts. Hot and wet areas will be jungles or rainforests. Cold and wet areas will be forests. Tropical storms form in warm areas near the equator, usually in the hottest months of the year. Mountains tend to trap moisture on one side, creating rain shadows and lush forests on the rainy side and deserts on the other side. Mountains near the poles will trap moisture and create glaciers. The more water, the more vegetation, which means bigger trees.

Remember, as you are creating all of this for your fantasy world, you are simultaneously woldbuilding. Be thinking of the story you are writing, or planning to write. Be strategic in choosing what kinds of terrain and climates and biomes will be the best for your story.

Biomes

Temperatures and landforms together form biomes, and that’s the next step in our process. I’m sure I must have learned about biomes when I was a kid in school, but I completely forgot about them until I started creating storyworlds. Biomes fascinate me, and understanding them—even keeping a list of then nearby—can help me as I build the different areas of my worlds.

Biomes are areas defined by their climate, landscape, and the flora and fauna that live there. They have rules. Palm trees don’t grow naturally in Montana, and it doesn’t snow in the Iranian desert. Biomes are classified by climate, rainfall, altitude, amount of sunlight, and the type of soil (or lack of soil in an aquatic biome). Scientists disagree as to the number of biomes, which doesn’t really matter to me. As a worldbuilder, I say, the more biomes, the better! Those classifications help me when it comes time to describe my landscapes or when it comes time to know what animals and birds exist where my characters are living out the story. You could even create some fantastical biomes of your own by playing with magical elements.

According to NationalGeographic.org, there are five types of biomes: tundra, forest, grassland, desert, and aquatic. Each of these can be subdivided into more specific categories. For example, aquatic biomes could be freshwater or marine biomes and forest biomes could be a tropical rainforest, a temperate forest, or a taiga (boreal forest). Also, the Arizona State University Biology Department has a great website on the earth’s biomes, if you want to read more. Here is my summary of what I think are the most important ones.

1. Tundra

Tundra is located in areas that are very cold and very dry with frozen (permafrost) soil. There are few if any trees in the tundra. There is often strong winds and limited plant and animal life. In the summers, limited vegetation like mosses and lichens cover a somewhat barren landscape, which is blanketed in snow in the long winter. Because there is little to eat, there is not as much wildlife. There are three types of tundra biomes: Arctic, Alpine, and Antarctic.

Arctic: The Arctic biomes is around the North Pole. It consists primarily of the Arctic Ocean which is surrounded by land. The weather is dry, and temperatures are very cold in the summer and freezing in the winter.

Many animals in the arctic biome have thick white or gray fur for warmth and camouflage. There are caribou, muskoxen, reindeer, hares, lemmings, voles, wolves, polar bears, arctic fox, arctic wolves, seals, geese, loons, ducks, and the snowy owls in the arctic. Most birds fly south for the winter and smaller animals tend to hibernate. The tundra has no trees but plenty of shrubs, grasses, mosses, and flowers.

Antarctic: Antarctica is a continent at the South Pole that is encircled by the Southern Ocean and covered in ice, which makes it difficult for life to survive. Temperatures are harsh and unforgiving. Penguins are the most abundant animal in Antarctica. There are also albatrosses, whales, and a wide variety of seals.

Alpine: Alpine biomes exist at the peaks of the most extreme mountain regions where it is snowy and cold. Longer summers make it possible for more plant life to thrive than in the Arctic. You’ll see flowery, grassy meadows here with mountain goats, wolves, bears, wildcats, snow leopard, vole, butterflies, beetles, and grasshoppers.

2. Forest

Forests are areas with dense vegetation and diverse wildlife. There are three main types: boreal, temperate, tropical.

Boreal: Boreal forests are land covered in evergreen trees in cooler climates like the far north of Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. The majority of trees are coniferous and have needles and cones rather than leaves and flowers. The climate tends to cool with an adequate amount of rainfall. You’ll find deer, moose, reindeer, elk, bison, mountain cats, bears, lynx, hares, beavers, martens, otters, weasels, minks, and rabbits. Plus, birds like owls, ptarmigans, woodpeckers, jays.

Temperate: Temperate forests run along the Pacific and East coasts of the United States, in Europe, and in western Asia. There are also some temperate forests in South America, southern Australia, and New Zealand.

This biome has mostly deciduous trees whose leaves turn colors in the fall. There are lots of wildflowers, mosses, ferns, and grasses. There aren’t as many large mammals. There are reptiles, deer, moose, cougars, timber wolves, bobcats, black bears, badgers, hedgehogs, squirrels, possums, raccoons, skunks, fox, badgers, chipmunks, red pandas, koalas, pigeons, robins, warblers, hawks, jays, and even reptiles like garter snakes, lizards, amphibians, cicadas, and salamanders.

Tropical: Tropical forests exist near the equator in Central America and into the top of South America, in mid-Africa, in India, China, and Indonesia. These areas are very warm and experience a lot of rainfall. Each geographical area has its own diverse animals and plant life. You’ll find trees like kapok, fruit, nut, fig, and palm. There are lost plentiful amounts of ferns, vines, and exotic flowers like orchids.

Depending on what part of the world you’re in, a few of the animals you might find are tigers, jaguars, wild pigs, deer, primates, anteaters, sloths, parrots, cockatoos, macaws, and lots of different snakes like anacondas, boas, and vipers. There are also poisonous frogs, army ants, swarms of bees, massive butterflies, and the praying mantis.

3. Grassland

Grasslands are wide open places with few trees and animals who like to graze. The climate tends to be warm to hot with a cold season. There are wet and dry seasons as well. Summer droughts can sometimes lead to wildfires.

Tropical Grassland: This type of biome includes plant communities like chaparral or savanna. Africa’s Savanna Safari is known for sighting lions, cheetahs, elephants, wildebeest, and rhinoceros. You might also also see hyenas, hippopotamus, giant crocodiles, bats, termites, vultures, buzzards, eagles, emus, kangaroo, and ostrich. There are also dune cats, antelopes, zebra, gazelles, and giraffes, plus lots of species of lizards and snakes, like the python and the cobra.

Temperate Grassland: Grasslands are warm, dry, and covered in—you guessed it—grass! What we Americans call the Midwest is primarily prairie, land which was popular for to homesteading in the mid to late 1800s. Grasslands are called different things and other parts of the globe. In South America it is the pampas. In Asia it is known as the steppe. And in Africa, it is called the veld. For years, I’ve been wanting to use the word “veld” on a fantasy map. Someday soon, my friends. It will happen.

Grasslands have fairly temperate summers, but the winters can be very cold. The biggest predators are coyotes, foxes, and wildcats. You’ll also find deer, rabbits, hares, wolves, eagles, bison, gazelles, wild horses, polecats, weasels, mice, rabbits, skunks, badgers, prairie dogs, ferrets, blackbirds, sparrows, quail, hawks, falcons, eagles, kestrels.

4. Desert

No one knows better than I do how many different types of deserts there are in the world. I employed as many as I could in my Kinsman Chronicles. There are high deserts that are semi-arid, mountainous regions covered with chaparral and all types of shrubs. They’re fairly barren, but you won’t find any sand. This is the kind I used to live in an Eastern Oregon. Then there are mid-latitude deserts, like those found in Arizona and New Mexico: hot and dry and filled with cacti. There are also rain-shadow deserts, which can be found on the other side of many mountain ranges whether they’re in Eastern Washington or down in the Mojave Desert of Death Valley, California. Finally, and likely the most famous, is the arid deserts that are hot and dry and mostly filled with sand like the Sahara.

There are never quite as many animals in desert biomes, and those that do exist are smaller because there is so little water. You’ll find camels in central Asia and the Middle East, the Sahara, and Australia, but there are no camels in North or South America. You also might find deer and antelope in deserts. What predators exist are usually feline or canine. Cougars and bobcats, fox and coyote all hunt rabbits and hares and meerkats. Notorious for inhabiting deserts, of course, are reptiles and scary insects like rattlesnakes, scorpions, lizards, and spiders.

5. Aquatic

Even though most of our fantasy stories will take place on land, I must also mention aquatic biomes. Aquatic biomes are submerged fully or partly under water. There are two main aquatic biomes: marine and freshwater. Aquatic biomes are home to a wide variety of fish, mammals, and other water creatures.

Marine: The marine biome is the biggest on earth since more than 70 percent of the earth is covered in saltwater. In the marine biome, you’ll find oceans, seas, coral reefs, and estuaries, which are filled with brackish water since they are where freshwater rivers meet the ocean. Coral reefs tend to form in warmer waters that are shallow.

Oceans house the biggest animals in the world: whales. There are also sharks, dolphins, porpoises, manatees, walrus, turtles, tortoises, and wide variety of fish. There are also many birds that thrive in marine biomes like puffins, pelicans, and, of course, seagulls.

Freshwater: Freshwater biomes are made up of ponds, lakes, streams, rivers, wetlands, swamps, mangroves, marshes, peatlands, and mudflats. Again, the types of animals and vegetation you’ll find in these regions depend where they are located around the globe. Some rivers are filled with salmon, while others are filled with piranha. You’ll find lots of ducks, swans, and geese in lakes and ponds in the northern hemisphere while in Kenya you might find flocks of flamingos. Some ponds and lakes are filled with lilies, algae, and all kinds of interesting freshwater plants. Lots of mammals frequent freshwater as well, like otters, beavers, and platypus. There are also frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, lizards, turtles, and crocodiles.

Putting it All Together

Now you’re going to look at your terrain, your climate map, and determine your biomes. Once you’ve chosen which biomes to put where on your map, you can use the list above to give you an idea of what kinds of plants and animals populate each region on your map. (Don’t just use my list. Look up each biome you use to get a better idea of what could exist, then make your own lists for what you want in your world.

Based on this information, you can also add fantasy creatures. Just try to parallel what real-life animals would be similar in habitat and diet, then put your fantasy creatures where they best fit. Just be sure to take into consideration the food chain and its affects, especially if your fantasy creature is an overly large predator. If your fantasy creature is eating up all of a certain type of animal that is typically eaten by something like bears or tigers, then your world either might not have bears or tigers. Or you need to consider the consequences of more than one alpha predator in the same location.

Another interesting idea would be to bring a new fantasy creature into an existing ecosystem. Ask yourself how it might change that ecosystem. Would it become an invasive species? Or would it fit right in?

The next post in this series is called Geography for World-Building, Part Three: Bodies of Water.

What is one biome you definitely want in your storyworld? Why is that biome important to your characters, plot, and/or story? Share in the comments.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

References:

https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/resource-library-biomes
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/five-major-types-biomes
https://askabiologist.asu.edu/explore/biomes
https://www.biologydiscussion.com/india/top-11-types-of-biomes-that-exist-in-india-biology/70775
https://www.britannica.com/science/taiga
https://www.textbooktravel.com/types-of-biome-and-their-animals/
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/koppen-climate-classification-system
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6ppen_climate_classification