The worldsee

  🌿 The Geothermal Garden: Speculative Botany of the 15x Kerguelen Islands  Welcome back to The Worldsee. In our previous #IFGeography post, we expanded the Kerguelen Islands to 15 times their original size, birthing the " Kingdom of Desolation ." We mapped a micro-continent dominated by the colossal Great Desolation Ice Sheet, raging subantarctic gales of the Roaring Forties, and the blood-red, heavily fractured walls of the Sanguine Fjords . Today, we dive much deeper into the impossible botany of this frozen hellscape. In a world where the average temperature hovers near freezing year-round, where vertical ice cliffs constantly calve into the sea, and where the wind routinely reaches hurricane force, traditional arboreal growth (trees) is physically impossible. To survive the 15x expanded Kerguelen, flora cannot merely adapt; it must weaponize extreme chemistry, forge symbiotic relationships with geology, and harness the subterranean fires of this active volcanic landmas...

  ❄️ The Kingdom of Desolation: The 15x Kerguelen Glaciers and Fjord Labyrinth Welcome back to The Worldsee. In our #IFGeography series, we have previously expanded the arid extremes of Socotra and carved abyssal canyons into Mount Roraima. Today, we journey to the southernmost reaches of the Indian Ocean to manipulate one of the most remote and enigmatic landmasses on Earth: the Kerguelen Islands, famously nicknamed the "Desolation Islands." In our reality, Kerguelen is a raw, volcanic, subantarctic archipelago (~7,200 km²) defined by sparse vegetation, strong winds, and the Cook Ice Cap. It is a harsh, isolated world. But what if the vast, submerged Kerguelen Plateau were to lift, expanding the landmass to exactly 15 times its current size? Let’s explore a highly realistic speculative scenario: The 15x expanded Kerguelen Islands (roughly 108,000 km², similar in size to the state of Virginia or South Korea). In this post, we will look purely at the defining features of this ...