Southern Islands Department

The Southern Islands Department (Mirselec Nimesurna Alzer) is one of the three island departments of Risevne. The capital of the department is the town of Fanedun, on Garmagas Island.

Geography and Climate

Geographically the southern department covers the largest area of the three island departments, and also has the most islands - a total of nearly 1,750 across the Elaspegian Ocean south of the Risevan Home Islands, of which around 520 are permanently inhabited.

This department comprises several large island groups, as well as many small and mostly uninhabited atolls scattered across the southwestern Elaspegian. Some of the prominent groups include:

• Tigase Islands, a group of about 70 islands the largest of which is Tigase Island

• Onu Islands, a vast arc of nearly 400 islands centred around the 3 main isles of Meseso, Linisurna and Kadisurna.

• Higeric Islands, a group of around 330 islands and the southernmost Risevan island group, which contains Anorsobalye Island (literally meaning Naval Base of Anorso), a major southern naval base for the Risevan Royal Navy.

Many of the islands experience a tropical or subtropical climate, with a yearly storm season especially prevalent in the islands to the west of the department; the same storms that strike the area as minor storms tend to strike the Home Islands or other northerly areas as major hurricanes, thus making it of special interest to Risevan meteorlogists. Several met stations have been set up in the region.

Society and Culture

The Southern Islands are ethnically the most diverse region of Risevne, owing to the native populations: the Risevan Government classifies the island's ethnicities into 6 main groups according to the regions of inhabitation: Tigasani, Onuyani, Hemsarani, Sekunbani, Higerizani and Maksani. All six of these have similar but distinct cultures.