Apalachea

Apalachea, officially the People's Republic of Apalachea (: Po-ítsi i-apálac-âlki im-itálwa, "Our People's Nation of Apalachea"), is a country in Yeongju. Apalachea is bordered to the west by Apalachee Bay, into which the Halputtahatchee River empties.

The area that now constitutes Apalachea has been inhabited by various groups of peoples, including the ethnic Apalachee whom populated the mouth of the Halputtahatchee River. The inhabitants of the land lived in a smattering of largely unaffiliated towns along the river called idalwá. When Jeongmian colonizers arrived in the 19th century, these idalwá coalesced into a loose federation in order to fight back the foreign invaders, but to little avail. Apalachea existed under the colonial rule of Jeongmi for centuries, during which native Apalachee culture fused with the colonial Jeongmi culture to form a precursor to the prevailing culture in Apalachea today. The country won its independence in the Apalachee Independence War, part of wave of decolonization that swept the globe as a result of the Great Eulhae War as well as other internal pressures in Jeongmi at the time. Resistance against its colonial master had united Apalachea in war, but the fragile, newly-sovereign country struggled to form strong self-government in the decades that followed independence. The weak state of the government was exploited in 1956 when a hohnhyeol estate owner named Gun Song violently overthrew the republican government and established himself as dictator. Song's oppressive rule and unpopular attempts to fully embrace Jeongmian culture and institutions rapidly culminated in popular revolt. The Apalachee Revolution began in 1968 and ended with the formation of a new communist government in 1972, headed by Hachuabshi-Apalachee revolutionary leader Kikisoblu "Mí:kko-ɬákko" Cocheta.

Under Cocheta's rule, Apalachea has undergone arduous reorientation, including an conscientious move away from Jeongmian influences in favor of traditional Apalachee institutions. Apalachea is a developing country, and is currently in the process of industrializing and transitioning its colonial economy into a self-sufficient one. Major exports include citrus, sugar, and fish. The country's income equality is the highest in the world, yet the average income is vanishingly low and the country ranks fairly low on the.

Geography
Apalachea covers an area of 108,211,758 km2 (41,780,793 square miles) on the eastern coast of central Yeongju. It is bordered to the east by the Mulberry Ocean. The country can be divided into two regions: the hilly northeastern region of Wakala Bokkosca, and the rolling Mulberry coastal plains (also called the Bee Hee) which comprise about 60% of the country's total area. Apalachea's terrain is mostly flat, with a high point of only 134 meters (440 ft) in the Wakala Hills to the northwest.

The country is host to two primary sources of fresh water, the Satapahnosi River and Lake Okkalichoba. The Satapahnosi River originates in the XXX mountains north of Wakala Bokkosca and runs north to the south through the country before emptying out into the Mulberry Ocean. Lake Okkalichoba is one of the largest spring-fed clear water lakes in the world, and the massive Apalachee Aquifer underlying it provides the majority of Apalachea's drinking water. Its outflow is carried by the Halpattuapahni River for about twenty miles to the ocean. The spring-fed water is quite warm and is a favored wintering spot of the.

Wakala Bokkosca
The Wakala Bokkosca, also called the Wakala Hills, comprises the hilly landscape of the north-west which make up about 35% of the country's total land area. They are considered foothills of the XXX mountains, and are cut through by the Satapahnosi river that originates there. Small to medium-sized lakes also populate these hills, though many of these hills are drained into sinkholes roughly every fifteen years and must be refilled by the rain—these lakes are therefore referred to as "vanishing lakes." The Satapahnosi passing over the region's porous limestone bedrock makes this region the highest recharge area for the Apalachee Aquifer, which provides drinking water to Apalachea and its neighbors. The region is home to the best-preserved remnants of the once-widespread and are highly biodiverse.

Bee Hee
The Bee Hee, alternately referred to as the Mulberry coastal plains or lowcountry, is the flat region which comprises approximately 65% of the country's land area. The land which surrounds the Satapahnosi principally marshy and ill-suited to agriculture, but the more distant areas with better drainage are highly fertile. The wetlands around the river are large and highly biodiverse. In recent years, they have served as a prominent attraction. Lake Okkalichoba and its outflow are also present here, providing catchment for the northern-eastern areas not served by the Satapahnosi. The land around the coast contains many salt marshes and estuaries which provide critical habitat to a variety of threatened species as well as a wintering location for an array of migratory birds. The brackish waters where the Satapahnosi and Halpattuapahni meet the Mulberry ocean are also home to large stretches of oyster reef, one of the world's most endangered habitats.

Flora and Fauna
For its small size, Apalachea is considered to be unusually diverse. Its unique combination of, spring-fed waters, wetlands, salt marshes, and estuaries provides habitat to a wide variety of species. Nonetheless, the majority of its biota are typical of the area.

Fauna
Though its range is not restricted to Apalachea, is the most iconic animal in the country, featuring on the national flag and revered in folk culture. Other charismatic fauna of note the and. A small but stable and growing population of have taken root in southern Apalachea in the last decade, probably blown into the region by a recent hurricane, and their elusiveness has captured the attention of bird-watchers and laymen alike in the nation. Other native animals ofn Apalachea include:
 * Mammals:, , , , , , , , , (only in Wakal Bokkosca)
 * Reptiles:, and ,
 * Birds:, , and , , , , , , , ,

Flora
Apalachea is known for its large virgin woodlands, particularly the emblematic of the Wakala Bokkosca, and its vast stretches of wetlands and marshlands. The country is home to an astonishing array of over 1,500 wildflowers. Much of the inland area, particularly the wetlands, is populated with the palms characteristic of the wider geographic region, but the country is well-known for its iconic and dramatic and. The wetlands surrounding the rivers are dominated by. ,, and populate the country's forests as well. Rather than sandy beaches, the coasts of Apalachea undulate gradually into the water and are covered in wide stretches of. and, though not native to Apalachea, were introduced millennia ago by way of trade networks across the continent and have been cultivated in the area continuously since that time, now occuring in the wild. The, , , , and are all examples of fruits that have been traditionally cultivated or foraged in Apalachea.

Climate
Apalachea has a. Summers are long, hot, and humid, and winters are conversely short and mild. Winter and autumn are dry and reduced in length. Snow is exceedingly rare, recorded only three times since the nation's founding in 1945.

Apalachee summers can be brutal, recording temperatures in excess of 38°C (100°F) on some days. Days of this heat previously occurred at a rate of only approximately two days per year, but this rate has doubled since 1968, likely as a consequence of climate change. Brief but powerful thunderstorms are characteristic during the summer. Temperature is singificantly reduced during the winter, averaging about 11°C (52°F) during the day.

Spring and autumn are quite dry when compared to summer and winter, and droughts are not uncommon. These droughts create frailty in the porous karst limestone bedrock, which is usually stabilized by groundwater, and can open up sinkholes which can damage property and drain entire lakes.

Apalachea is prone to hurricanes from the Mulberry Ocean, though in practice it is rarely hit directly. The country's coasts are ill-adapted to the powerful storms, and is common. Paired with the nation's many, which are also poorly adapted to cope with strong wind forces, these hurricanes can be extremely dangerous to the region, costing millions in long-lasting property and infrastructure damage and as well as hundreds of lives when struck directly.