Dorista
This article is about the historical province and region Dorista. For information on the modern-day provinces, see Āþ-Dorista and Āŋ-Dorista.
Dorista is renowned as the "most beautiful" of all of Baranxtu's regions. The majority of its population is centered on the western and southern coast, and large parts of the inner parts of the province are still untouched nature.
In 1989, the province was split in a northern and a southern part. However, the name Dorista (and recently, also the Doristas) is still used to refer to the whole region, including Deioprañiva, Siraŋe and parts of Qiru.
Name
The name Dorista is probably derived from the Akes Mersanint phrase doonis siafjan (/"dO.o.nis "saf.jan/), meaning land of the Daun people; the Daun being the most influential tribe in the area.
Maps from the late 16th century call all the lands west of the Baranxtuan settlements 'Dorisafja'. Later on, the northern peninsula was called the 'Abasina' and the southern peninsula the 'Qirina'.
By then, the area inbetween was called Dorisata (the t emerged after a sound change in Akes Mersanint that shifted the /fj/ to /f_j/ and finally, /t/), and it was only a short way to Dorista, wich first appeared in this form in 1785.
History
to be added later
Geography and Wildlife
A large part of the center and south of Dorista is dominated by the Adijan, the most prominent mountain range of Baranxtu. Their highest elevation reaches just a little over 5,000m, and Mount Azra is the highest point in Baranxtu with 5,024m.
During the winter, the Adijan in Dorista is the area with most snow in Baranxtu, making it a popular destination for people interested in winter sports.
The Adijan is also home to a rich and unique wildlife with many species only native to these mountains, including the Qirian Hare and Doristan Lynx. To protect the wildlife of the region, sports hunting and trophy hunting have been outlawed, and large parts of the Adijan are protected areas in general.
A majority of the Adijan is still covered in forests, and only small patches have been opened for the lumberjack industry, giving further grounds for Dorista's nickname as the Divine Garden on Earth.
Of course the mountainous landscape also brings many problems. Small remote villages, often inhabited by the indigenous Qiru people, are regularly cut off from the outside during autumn and winter, when landslides and avalanches can cut off the roads.
During the rain heavy seasons, usually spring and autumn, flooding also becomes major problems. Although they rarely cost human life, the financial damages can often be quite heavy. All of this also poses a threat to the farmers of the surrounding areas.
Most farmland in Dorista is found in the temperate lower regions of the Adijan and the central plains. A large variety of crops, including rice, wheat, wine and tnani are grown here.
Especially the latter has escaped into a wild, and whereas the tnani usually doesn't pose a threat to other plants, it can be quite dangerous to native animals. Herbivores in the original habitat of the tnani have often developed some resistance to its poison, but a large number of wild sheep, goats and deer a reported each year to have died from tnani poisoning.
