Starfish Lake

The Starfish Lake is both a Subcontinent and a Geographic Structure located in Nautilus continent.

Coordinates are 1125-1130/1068-1071. SLGI team gave this subcontinent the transitory name **B001**.

## Position

Starfish Lake is located in Central-East Nautilus, in a large depression. It is separated to North-West and South-West by high-altitude areas, the Mountains Of Nautilus. In West, there is an isthmus that separates the continent. In South-East, the lake is separated by a sandbank.

## Structure

Starfish Lake is a large inlet of water, located inside Nautilus Continent. Its Northern part is Protected Land, while its Southern part is Inhabited Land. The Northern part is larger, sometimes over a sim wide. From this part, long gulfs or estuaries extend deep inside the continent, creating large peninsulas, that extend far in South-West. The South-East part of the lake is a large swamp.

### Protected Area

In North, there are 10 sims of protected water. There, water is deep. Small peninsulas extend from nearby sims, to form small beaches.

### Gulfs

Starting from the protected area, long gulfs extend to all directions. The gulfs reaching North are short and only on rare occasions extend more then one sim. On the other hand, there are two long gulfs extending to South-West and one large extending to West. All of them also have smaller, secondary gulfs. They are always private land. Along their shores, there are usually residential buildings, many of them being beach houses. There are many docks and luxurious houses.

### Lake bottom

Altitude maps reveal that the lake has not the same depth. Each peninsula is continued by an area of shallow water, where large ships will get stuck. Along each gulf, there is usually a strait of deep water, that gets shallower closer to the end. Because of repeated terraforming processes, some gulfs might be blocked by banks of sand or submerged dunes.

### South-East Sandbanks

The South-East part of the lake is separated from the ocean by a large sand bank. It is not a continuous structure. Because of repeated terraforming processes, there many sharp, narrow channels that could hardly be used by a small boat. SLGI team closely examined the area and found that majority of channels do not allow a connection between the lake and the sea. The only connection found goes beneath a building.

As future residents will terraform their land, it is expected that new channels will form and existing ones will vanish. From time to time, Starfish Lake will be connected to the ocean by small waterways or will become *endorheic* (isolated from the ocean).

## Altitude

The altitude map reveals some unexpected features. First of all, one can see how navigation channels extend along each gulf to the center of the lake and how shallow water is found close to the beaches. Second, it is clearly visible how the sandbank is creating a network of channels and small lakes. Third, the difference in altitude between the lake and mountains located in South-West and North-West is also visible. Close to the lake, land is not so elevated. It is visible that peninsulas separating the gulfs are in fact long hills, stretching from the mountains. Highly elevated places are not located close to the lake.

## Buildings

Inside the North part of the lake, there are no shipwrecks. Also, marine vegetation is rare. However, inside the South part, travelers can find a lot of interesting things, including docks, vegetation, fisheries, boats and tropical beaches. Constructions alternate with uninhabited areas.

## Accessibility

Starfish Lake is a remote area. There is no road that reaches its shores. Travelers can follow North Nautilus Roads, to get close enough to make a distant photo of the lake. The Northern protected area has no rezz zones, no public docks and no road access. The only way to sail on the lake is to purchase land near its shores and rezz your own boat.

SLGI Fleet detaches a spaceship (SLGI Ship *Pioneer*) every 6 hours, that reaches the lake by teleporting and makes a limited tour of the protected area.

Nautilus has the reputation of being the most inhospitable continent, with a record number of ban lines and security orbs. So, any explorer that enters private-owned land, is doing it at its own risk.

## Population

Population density is larger on the North coast, close to the protected waterway. Also, there are many settlements in South. However, along the gulfs, there can be found uninhabited parcels and abandoned land. From the end of large gulfs, it is possible to walk a long way along the valleys, up to the mountains, without entering ban lines or entity orbs.

## Surrounding Areas

To the West, all gulfs are continued by long dry valleys that enter deep inside Mountains Of Nautilus. To the East, ocean shore is not far, creating a tropical beach paradise. To the North, land has moderate elevations and separates the lake from some isolated waterways along Nautilus North Coast.

## See Also

* Second Life Geography
* List Of Subcontinents
* Nautilus