Langara is a planet of the type designated Per-aa by the Goa'uld - that is, suitable for full occupation, royal habitation and a blend of recreational, agricultural, scientific and low-impact industrial activity - and 'Earth-type' by the People of the Tau'ri. It is a geologically active world, with four major continents set amid a single body of salt water. It possesses magnetic poles in the extreme north and south of the planet, in positions roughly analogous to the line of its rotational axis. Northern Terrania and Atharis suffer from occasional earthquakes and volcanic activity.
Langara has a variable climate, ranging from tropical around the equator, through temperate regions to arctic polar zones. The north of the planet is climatically more extreme than the south and the global average temperature is approximately two degrees Celsius lower than that of Earth, resulting from a generally more temperate south and the extreme cold of the northern polar region. Average precipitation is high and relative variation in rainfall is low, meaning that Langara has few areas of desert or dense rainforest. Exceptions occur in the lower tropics of Kelowna and Terrania, where high rainfall results in swampy and jungle conditions, and in the toxic desert known as the Cursed Lands.
The flora and fauna of the planet is highly varied, but includes a number of large species of predator introduced by the Goa'uld for sporting reasons.
Langara has a single major ocean, subdivided by the continental landmasses. The average salinity of Langaran seawater is just 2.1%, making it less dense than terrestrial seawater and giving it a higher freezing temperature.
The three main continents surround the tropical and sub-tropical waters of Central Sea. These teeming waters are warm and rich in wildlife, including many species of sport fish, dolphins and smaller whales. During times of peace, the waters of this sea have always been popular with recreational sailors. It is known for its calm conditions and clement climate.
The great expanse of the Outer Ocean lies between the east coast of Kelowna and the west of the Andari Federation, Southern Provinces, Atharis and Terrania and is home to the larger whales and sharks. It is a harder ocean to travel than the Central Sea, notorious for its storms, whirlpools and waterspouts. It is also home to the Anas Triangle, some five hundred miles from the coast of the Andari Federation, that is now known to be created by the colossi that protected the island of Amamos.
The polar oceans of Langara are the Southern Sea and the Northern Waters. The latter throngs with large sea mammals, ice fish and birds, but much of the Southern Sea is sterile, poisoned by the fallout from the Holocaust. Due to the low salinity, the northern ice caps in particular are thick and expansive.
Langara's landmasses are usually divided into four continents. Although three of these are directly associated with the three great powers of Langara, they are almost exclusively referred to by geographers using their traditional, pre-Empire names: Anriga, Taunis, Drus and Australis. This serves to avoid political bias and also to distinguish between political and physical entities.
Anriga sits largely in the northern hemisphere and ranges from a tropical south to the northern tundra. The original dividing line between Anriga and Taunis was the Cleft of Athar, a deep chasm opened along a tectonic fault by the upheavals of the Holocaust, but since the creation of the Gentrica Canal this coast-to-coast waterway is recognised as the continental border.
The main geographical feature of Anriga is the Wall, a range of colossal mountains that divides the continent almost in half from the north to the south and then runs on to the west coast, paring off the north-west corner. The Wall is broken in the middle of its east-west reaches by the Gap, a wide, subtropical plain which features much of the continent's best farmland. The pinnacle of the range is Mantara, a towering peak over 23,000 feet in height.
The eastern region sits in the shelter of the Wall and, despite a few icy winds from the polar regions, is a relatively temperate zone with a pleasant and moderate climate. The north-west region, bounded by the Wall, is colder and noted for its wetness; as well as its high rainfall, the great River Nalis runs from the middle slopes of Mantara across the region, joined in its travels by dozens of smaller streams and rivers. The southern region is drier and includes a great deal of good farmland.
Taunis, to the south of the Cleft, is Langara's most seismically active region. The planet's largest mountain, Marn Dui, stands in the north of the continent. Marn Dui - literally, 'the dragon's peak' - is an semi-dormant volcano and was over 30,000 feet high prior to its last eruption in 10,207AH; it still stands over 22,000 feet high, but most of the peak was destroyed by the collapse of the Caldera. The magma chamber of the volcano appears to be empty, but the area is still known for its geothermal activity and hot springs.
Taunis is the largest of the three 'hospitable' continents in terms of land mass, but a great deal of that land is occupied by the ravaged, rocky, mountainous desert known as the Cursed Land. As a result of the naquadria tests carried out there by Thanos in the age of the Holocaust, the Cursed Land is almost permanently contaminated by radiation. The heart of this deadly territory is Lake Thanos, a body of water so contaminated that the River Phlegethon that pours out to the south has over the millennia turned its delta into the stinking Poison Gulf and tainted the Aleph Current of the Southern Sea and the western shores of Australis.
In the north-east of Taunis, between the Rivers Taras and Chall, lies one of the few areas of rainforest on the planet. This forest extends to the coast, where the rivers split and subdivide into a three hundred mile delta of think channels and dense mangrove swamps. Curiously, the Taras and the Chall flow from the Cursed Land, but from a source unpolluted by the Holocaust. No expedition to find the source of these two rivers has ever been successful, nor has any member of such an expedition returned alive.
The last of the hospitable continents is Drus, which is smaller in terms of landmass than Anriga or Taunis, but spans more degrees of latitude than the other two combined, running from the edge of the northern polar circle to within three degrees of the southern. The north and south of the continent are covered by tundra and rest in the permafrost zone, with jungle, swamp, temperate farmland, plains and forests in between.
In the north, the great rivers Cavill, Kelus and Tycho all run from the mighty Lake Tycho, a vast body of fresh water set amid the low rise of the Kelus Hills. The waters of the lake, pouring down these and a thousand smaller waterways, have made the north of Drus into a rich, alluvial plain and also provided a natural transportation network.
Further south a range of high hills called the Bounds cuts the continent almost in half. For centuries these created a natural boundary between north and south, although when it came to conflict it quickly proved that their defensive role was more psychological than physical. More substantial are the Drumens, a ring of mountains which protect the small state of Reeth and can only be passed by large numbers of people via the Drusal Pass.
South of the high, dry Drumens and the temperate pocket of Reeth, the climate becomes more humid. The Arvis Hills separate the rainforests of the Velria Basin, between the arms of the Velria, to the north from the plains to the south. The River Spet runs down to the south, branching off to fill Lake Velis in the Valley of Death. These two recent additions to the landscape are the result of the first use of the naquadria bomb in modern history and have also resulted in the ruin of the southern tip of Drus.
The last great continent is Australis, a vast land mass which lies entirely within the southern polar region and largely beneath colossal, ancient ice sheets. The coasts of Australis are, however, habitable and are home to semi-nomadic tribes who make their living trading fish, meat (mostly whale and seal), horn (from ice oxen or narwhals), ivory (from walrus and sabre whales) and precious metals mined from the exposed peaks that rise through the ice fields.
The western shores of Austalis, where the Aleph Current once washed warm water from Taunis to create a veritable paradise amid the wastes, have long-since been poisoned by the toxic waters of the Cursed Land and continue to be so, despite recent endeavours by the Terranians to prevent further pollution. An ancient city once stood on what is now the Poisoned Shore, but the only sizeable settlement now to be found on the entire continent is the town of Barter, where the people of Australis harbour their whaling and trading boats.
In addition to the large continents, there are a number of smaller landmasses on Langara. Notwithstanding a number of coastal islands, one of the largest of these is Amamos, on which the Stargate Facility is based. Amamos is a geographical oddity, protected by reefs and sea rocks as well as by the ancient defences of the Colossi. It has a rocky shore, an impregnable fortress of rock, a system of caves perfectly suited to housing a Goa'uld power plant, rich mineral deposits and acres of good farmland.
Ister, widely regarded by many to be the oldest piece of rock on Langara, is a paradisiacal isle at the heart of the Central Sea. Formed by volcanic action, it was long isolated from the rest of the world.
The Maran Archipelago is not one island, but many; a collection of volcanic islets between northern Taunis and southern Anriga.
Voltumanteia, the site of the Kelownan naquadria tests, is another of Langara's eccentric islands. Said to have been the site of Voltumna's palace in the days before his feud with Thanos, it is now noted both for its naquadria contamination and for the Mouth; a cavern shaft leading down into the bowels of the planet, which is rumoured to lead all the way to Hell.
The population of Langara suffered terribly during the long cold war between the three great power and the Anubite Invasion which brought it to an end. The final bombardment struck many of the planet's cities and military bases, and the ground assault by Jaffa foot soldiers has skewed the planetary demographic; almost 70% of the casualties worldwide were males between the ages of 16 and 35. Kelowna, once the most populous of the great nations, is now the least populous; the Terranian Military Élite lost more than two-thirds of their male novices and almost 10% of the female.
The bulk of the populace have moved to the suburbs of the once-great cities while the urban centres are reconstructed. Rural areas remain largely unaffected - the bombardment and assault focused on the cities - but the demand for basic products has resulted in a large number of people emigrating to the provinces to work in farming or in transportation.
Langara's industrial infrastructure has undergone something of a collapse since the Anubite Invasion, but the people have done much to restore normality. In some areas there have even been efforts to update industrial activity using Goa'uld or terrestrial technology. While this has created a number of shortages across Langara, it has had one beneficial effect, reducing the rate of atmospheric pollution to half its pre-invasion levels.
Research into the use of naquadah - of which Langara has rich deposits - has become a key part of Langaran industrial development. Naquadria research is rigidly controlled by the Joint Ruling Council of Langara, but the more stable isotope is fair game. Naquadah power is seen as the future of industry, especially if it can reliably replace the dwindling stocks of coal and oil before the machinery of extraction and refining can be rebuilt.
Agriculture is of overriding importance in post-invasion Langara. With the failing industrial infrastructure, man- and animal-power have come back into use. Most of the larger farms in Langara have sprouted small clusters of prefabricated huts to house a suddenly expanded labour force.