Transportation in the World of Avatar

Methods of transportation in the world vary greatly from nation to nation, ranging from motorized transportation, like tank trains, to animal-based transportation, such as flying bison.
Prior to the Hundred Year War, the Air Nomads and the Water Tribe relied exclusively on unpowered transportation methods, whereas the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation had more advanced methods at their disposal.
Seventy years after the war's end, motorized transportation evolved significantly and became a typical sight within Republic City.
== Air Nomads ==
The Air Nomads' use of airbending extends to transportation. Without any external means of travel, Air Nomads can run great distances at high speeds. However, for longer journeys or for some applications, the Air Nomads make use of flying bison and gliders.Shown throughout Avatar: The Last Airbender by Aang
* Flying bison — This was the primary long-range transportation used by Air Nomads. Flying bison use airbending to fly.
* Staffs — Air Nomads possessed staffs to aid their bending. They opened their staffs into gliders to fly.
** Windsurfing — Aang made a makeshift wind surfboard out of his glider and a large piece of driftwood. It can be used for short-distance travel over water.
* Wingsuits — By 174 AG, wingsuits developed by Future Industries became a common attire to be worn by the airbenders of the Air Nation and replaced the need to carry around a staff for gliding.
== Water Tribe ==
The people of the Water Tribe always inhabit regions near water. Thus, their methods of transportation are mostly water-based, with a small variety of boats and larger ships used. During the era of Kyoshi, steering larger vessels were designed, allowing the Water Tribe to take a more dominating presence in the oceans.Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game. Core Book, Version 1.0, 2022, p. 28.
* Arctic camel — Animals used in the Southern Water Tribe as transportation and beasts of burden.
* Barges — These smaller boats are commonly used for transport around the Northern Water Tribe.
* Buffalo yak — These animals are used by the Northern Water Tribe as a means of transportation and towing.
* Canoe — A boat that is used for fishing, or short-distance travel over water in the Southern Water Tribe.
* Catamaran — CatamaransThe Legend of Korra—The Art of the Animated Series, Book Four: Balance, page 28. are used as a means of seaborne transportation. They can vary in size, ranging from being a one-person transport to being large enough to comfortably house a flying bison and six people.
* Cutter sailing ship — They are used by Southern Water Tribe warriors as transport ships for their small force of warriors.
* Polar bear dog — Avatar Korra owned a tamed polar bear dog named Naga whom she rode frequently while traveling in the South Pole and in Republic City.
* Snowmobile — Used by members of the Southern Water Tribe after the Hundred Year War to cross the snowy landscape in the south.
* Swamp skiff — Used by the Foggy Swamp Tribe, these canoe-like crafts serve as transportation around the Foggy Swamp. The swamp people use waterbending to propel the skiffs and long poles to guide them through the waterways of the swamp.
* Umiak — A common open skin boat, used by the Northern Water Tribe as a form of transport.
== Earth Kingdom ==
The Earth Kingdom is vast and thus has a large variety of transportation for every need. Various methods emphasize speed, agility, or luxury.
* Badgermole — Badgermoles can be useful for travel underground if the rider plays music. They are also domesticated for heavy labor purposes in other parts of the kingdom.
* Ba Sing Se airship — Used by the Earth Kingdom Air Force and constructed by Cabbage Corp. Cheaper and of inferior quality compared to other contemporary airships.
* Camelephant — Used for desert travel.
* Carriage — Animal-drawn carriages are used by the wealthy for transportation.
* Eel hound — Eel hounds are the fastest creatures on land or in water, and are thus very useful for the purposes of pursuit or interception.
* Ferry — Ferries are used to cross bodies of water, for example to Ba Sing Se.
* Giant beetle — Giant beetles are used in the Si Wong Desert by the beetle-headed merchants as pack animals and for transport.
* Glider — Used by Earth Kingdom settlers in the Northern Air Temple and constructed by the mechanist.
* Monorail — The monorail is a very fast method of transportation available to the citizens of Ba Sing Se, who would otherwise require three days to travel from one side of the city to the other. It is also a means of transportation available in the metal city of Zaofu.
* Ostrich horse — Ostrich horses are a popular method of transportation in rural areas of the Earth Kingdom, as they are versatile and resilient.
* Palanquin — The Earth Monarch uses a palanquin, an ultimate status symbol.
* Sand-sailer — Used by the sandbenders to traverse across the Si Wong Desert.
* Shirshu — Used by June to pursue bounties. This creature can track scents across continents and travel across land incredibly quickly.
== Fire Nation ==
The industrialized Fire Nation has many transportation methods. Some of them are among the fastest in the world, driven by steam, developed during the lifetime of Avatar Roku. Others are more traditional, such as the palanquin.
* Airship — Used by the Fire Nation Air Force to transport troops and attack enemy targets from the air. At least sixteen of these airships were constructed, and all but one were destroyed at the battle at Wulong Forest.
* Barge — Azula, Zuko, Mai, and Ty Lee went for a vacation on Ember Island on a small wooden luxury vessel built for use by Fire Nation nobles. This small vessel possesses no engines and is pulled by a manatee whale.
* Carriage — Animal-drawn carriages are used by the wealthy for transportation.
* Dragon — Before their near extinction, dragons could be used as transport.
* Dragon moose — Carriage-pulling creatures.
* Gondola — Used in the Boiling Rock as a method of transportation across the boiling lake. It uses long, strong metal cables to navigate over the scalding hot water.
* Hot air balloon — Small two-man balloon used by the Fire Nation Air Force to attack ground units alongside airships.
* Jet ski — A mode of aquatic transportation used for high-speed travel over rivers.
* Komodo rhino — Used in the Hundred Year War as cavalry, specifically by the Rough Rhinos, but also by others, like Zuko.
* Mongoose lizard — Large animals that are ridden like a horse.
* Palanquin — Royalty and the nobility use palanquins, an ultimate status symbol.
* Pleasure craft — A type of boat used for someone's personal use, typically used by royalty, nobility, and the wealthy.
* Puma goat — Used in the mountains by bandits and poachers.
* Ship — One of the fastest methods of transportation in the world, seagoing ships are used widely in the Fire Nation.
* Tank train — Used by Azula as a means to quickly track Aang and his friends.
== Transportation not exclusive to nations ==
* Biplane — A compact airplane that was manufactured by Hiroshi Sato to be used by the Equalists. It was later repurposed by Asami, who used Future Industries' resources to build them en masse.
* Motor vehicle — In the years following the Hundred Year War, Republic City produced modes of transportation such as motorcycles, mopeds, and cars, which are of a more recent and advanced degree of transportation. Some of the automobile models in Republic City include Satomobiles and the cheaper alternative known as the Cabbage Car.
* Speedboat — A mode of aquatic transportation powered by gasoline. It can travel at very high speeds across water.
* Steamship — A large ship used for transporting goods between various locations around the world.
* Train — In industrialized areas, train systems were built to bypass road traffic and ease transportation time and costs.
* Tram and mine-cart system — Used primarily by the Equalists to travel through the tunnels beneath Republic City, the trams and mine-carts are vital in transporting goods and people between various Equalist hideouts.
* Trolley — Republic City also has an intricate network of trolleys that serves as a means of public transportation that people can use to get around the city.
== Trivia ==
* Each of the four nations have their own bending-powered transportation: the Water Tribe has waterbending-powered submarines; the Earth Kingdom has earthbending-powered tanks; the Fire Nation has hot air balloons; and the Air Nomads have air gliders.
** The mechanist designed three of these four apparatuses himself and constructed his own version of the air glider.
== References ==
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