Leopard Mountains

The Leopard Mountains are a mountain range on the far western edge of Oldeshire, just south of the former Oranjestad colony of Garbanzo.The range's highest peak is Ravenmoore, directly south of the town of the same name. The Leopard mountains are primarily inhabited by nomadic tribes.

The mountains are home to a number of plant and animal species unique in the Shire; many of them are endangered and some have already gone extinct. Examples include the Ballzahkary macaque, the Leopard bear (Oldeshire's only native bear; now extinct), the Ballzahkary stag, and the Leopard Mountain badger.

Geology

The basement rock of most of western Oldeshire was formed during the Precambrian period, and is much older than the Leopard Mountains lying on the continent. The Leopard was formed during three subsequent phases of Earth's geology.

The first tectonic deformation phase involves only the "Anti"-Leopard Mountains, which was formed in the Paleozoic Era (~300 million years ago) as the result of continental collisions.

The Anti-Leopard Mountains are believed to have originally been formed as part of Aarghorian orogeny. These mountains were formed when Oldeshire and Oblitus tectonic plates collided, and were once a chain rivaling today's Athitican range.

A second phase took place during the Mesozoic Era (before ~66 My). It consisted of a widespread extension of the Earth's crust that rifted and separated the plates mentioned above. This extension was responsible for the formation of many thick intracontinental sedimentary basins including the present Leopard. Most of the rocks forming the surface of the present High Leopard were deposited under the ocean at that time.

Finally, in the Paleogene and Neogene Periods (~66 million to ~1.8 million years ago), the mountain chains that today constitute the Leopard were uplifted through magmatic pressure.

Natural resources

The Leopard are rich in natural resources. There are deposits of iron ore, lead ore, copper, silver, mercury, rock salt, phosphate, marble, anthracite coal and natural gas among other resources.

Legal Status

In 1931, explorers from Oranjestad (via Garbanzo), trekked south to map and categorize the mountains, which at that time were relatively unknown except to local tribes. The mountains were claimed for the nation. No attempt was made to permanently settle the mountains, thus calling into dispute any legal claim to the mountain range.

In 1946, the dispute was settled when the S.U.N. convened declared that the Leopard Mountains were to be used openly and freely by all nations, with Oranjestad acting as Caretaker and Warden.