#and the comments sections there have evolved their own terrible ecosystem because of that

[the-river-person]

Worldbuilding Tangent 3

Part 1 / Part 2 And here’s the section that made me want to start writing about worldbuilding in the first place. Waterfall. And since there’s no way to avoid it, bits of Hotland too. (A reminder that these are my own observations and analysis of the Game’s text  it is still only my interpretation of how this area MIGHT work if we attempt to apply real world systems Undertale’s world. It’s possible that I misunderstood or don’t know enough about the natural systems described and that things couldn’t work that way without some kind of magic, whether that of the Monsters or some natural source of it.) So let’s start off with my theories about Mt Ebbot itself. I think that at one point it was an active volcano. The area must have, in some primordial age of the world, been under high sea levels. There is no way for some of the larger caverns, such as the Snowdin Cavern, to have formed except through dissolution of Limestone over very long periods of time through water. Limestone is usually made from the accumulation of shell, coral, algal, fecal, and other organic debris at the bottom of bodies of water. As water levels receded over time, we were left with layers of limestone. Then at some point a magma chamber beneath the earth had an increase pressure and the magma was driven upwards. Interactions between magma and limestone are can cause extremely explosive eruptions, and its my guess that this caused the formation of what I’m calling the Grand Cavern which contains a huge portion of Waterfall as well as the City of New Home. This would have been a Stratovolcano, which is characterized by multiple explosions of both streams of magma and clouds of ash and thrown fragments. Usually such explosions are massive, and the high pressure of lava streams even underground might even lead to the formation of Lava Tubes. Volcanic activity and limestone would explain the presence of both the numerous crystals that decorate this part of the Underground as well as some the larger smoother areas of the visible caverns. Based on how the path seems to work, my guess is that streams of lava flooded upwards and the lava tubes formed became the main path of Waterfall. Then when the Volcano became dormant and the magma receded to lower areas, surface water began to flow back into the Underground, smoothing over and eroding at the volcanic surfaces of the caves and making waterfall much bigger as lava caves and tubes were opened into various Solutional caves and caverns or areas blasted open by the eruption as well as new layers of igneous rock which were easily eroded. Many speculate that there must be a body of water above this area of the Underground to produce that much constant water. I don’t entirely think so. While its likely that there is a nearby source for a large amount of water, there is so much water in this area that it can’t all stem from that. Part of it actually comes from the river we see in Snowdin. When you enter Waterfall, the river vanishes because you are in tunnels which are walled on one side, and drop off with the falls on the other into an unseen area (Will return to this). The river vanished behind these walls somehow, yet still manages to flow on steadily till it reaches Hotland and then the Core. My guess is that the river is one of several sources for water. Others include natural springs, probably some body of water on the surface such as mountain streams and various small lakes in the area. It is all of these that would allow water to collect in the Underground. Right above the area we travel through is probably a larger reservoir of water. Without such a thing, the water levels of this area would be affected seasonally and the caves would be dry at times, which is not hinted at anywhere. Also, Waterfall is one of the largest sections of the Underground and is significantly darker than other areas. Since the area is on the same level as most of the livable Underground, rather than deeper down, its likely that it sits under the main body of Mt Ebbot, while Snowdin Cavern, the area New Home sits under, as well as the Ruins are all much closer to the edge of the mountain and sometimes lie underneath the foothills and normal ground. This allows for the openings and shafts of light that are present in these other areas, but not so much in Waterfall. So our larger reservoir would collect water and its shores would ebb and flow as the water table was affected. It would also contain large amounts of trash if the visible area of Waterfall is any indication. Its possible that many denizens of this area live around the reservoir and river instead of in the lower tunnels, this would account for a good many monsters supposed to dwell here. We also have another piece of evidence that hints at the existence of multiple levels of the area by remembering that Undyne appears on the opposite side of the river with Papyrus at the beginning of the area. Behind them are some columns formed from limestone deposits as water drips down from above. Later she appears again attacking you through gigantic hand carved columns that line the edge of the dark water. Eventually though, if the reservoir got too low, such as during a drought, the water level in the lower areas would be affected too. Which Onionsan tells us is so with the comment that it gets shallower all the time and that many others have moved to a large Aquarium in New Home, though some are probably just eager to escape the Underground. We also appear to have rather large cliffs with standing water pools, probably a plunge pool or basin formed from the falling water. Other caves appear to hold  huge bodies of relatively still waters allowing for the growth of “Water Sausages” or Typha, grasses of various kinds, and bioluminescent mushrooms and flowers. What kind of wetlands these areas area was a bit tricky to figure out. Since they are in a cave system and there are no trees in this area and limited vegetation and animals, then things like swamps and marshes can be eliminated. A bog was a possibility, until I remembered that unlike the Dark Waters areas which have near black water, one large area has its colors inverted making the land dark due to the light coming from the water. The probably cause of this is due to Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates. Dinoflaggellates are plankton that can be found in many bodies of water such as streams and lakes. But mostly they show up in the ocean. However bioluminescence is rare, and usually only occurs to aid in escape from predators, or to help find food in dark places. We have the dark down, but Bioluminescent Dinoflagellates require relatively stable conditions such as water that is not too cold but not terribly hot, and isn’t flowing too quickly. This along with the difference between the Dark Water area and this one means that this pool is probably somewhat warmer, maybe some very light geothermal activity, or simply the shape or makeup of the cave allowed for it to be just warm enough for Bioluminescence to develop over who knows how long. Since various forms of BIoluminescence are common in dark caves big enough for complex ecosystems, this wouldn’t be too strange. But the necessary warmer temperature rules out bog, swamp, fen, and bayou. Leaving us with a marsh. Since I have no real evidence of a sea or ocean (some people say that you can see one in the distance at the end of the game, but I looked and its too blurry to tell out that far. Could be ocean, could be more land, could be hazy horizon with the setting sun. Who knows.) its unlikely that its a saltwater marsh.  This is doubled by all the fungi, freshwater plants, and such that live here, plus all of the underground gets its water from these connected rivers, lakes, and pools. So we’re left with freshwater marsh. A freshwater marsh is an area that is continuously or frequently flooded and primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants. This checks all of our boxes for Waterfall while still allowing for enough stability in certain areas that the Dinoflagellates won’t be disturbed much. There are areas that are still very wet soil that grasses and mushrooms grow on plentifully, along with the clearly magical Echo Flowers. Though no mushroom exactly resembles those found in game, there are many many instances of bioluminescent fungi. The Echo Flowers sadly cannot be explained without magic of some kind, though there are a few very rare flowers that have bioluminescence, nothing but magic could be responsible for the echo mechanism. Also, the glowing of the crystals that make the stars is likely a natural phenomenon and the only mentions we get of them are that monsters have seen them and remember the stars. They are explicitly named as stones instead of the Arachnocampa luminosa gloworm species we are familiar with from the Waitomo Caves. So their glow must be due to some kind of Luminescence. There are several types of natural light minerals can produce, but unless the crystals have a source of light to give them energy, are glowing with intense heat, or are somehow being disturbed constantly and in ways that cause them to break chemical bonds... they’re probably magical. (Unless we want to say that the underground is flooded with Electromagnetic Radiation like Ultraviolet Light, Infrared Light, or X-Rays. I somehow doubt this is the case. Some of these would kill the monsters and any humans. Others would be impossible this far underground.) The light of the stars must be bright enough to allow the Typha to grow. Water Sausages are a resilient and adaptable species, but they must have some light because all studies showed that in total darkness they could no longer germinate. So while magic is probably involved, or this species has evolved greatly from being underground for a long time, this plant needs some light to survive. The Grand Cavern, where New Home is shown in the distance, also gives us a vague and shadowy impression of a lot of open space between you and the city proper. This is likely filled with fields for growing whatever food can be effectively produced in the Underground with limited light from the cavern ceiling, and the glowing crystals. Funnily, various parts of the Typha can be eaten either raw or after cooking and can also be used in medicines. Traditionally it has been used by certain indigenous cultures of British Columbia. This plant is probably a large part of Underground diets. We also see an abundance of fireflies around this area, who are nocturnal and wouldn’t have much problem down here. Finally I return to the countless falls that flow past you and down into the area below which we as players cannot see or reach. It is possible that the waters continue to flow down and erode or dissolve further caves and caverns below, maybe even form a massive lake or being absorbed into the stone and soil and vanishing (this depends on geological conditions down there). Now, while I think there is a great deal more room for monsters to spread out down there, it has a few problems with livability. Our biggest problem is light. Without sources of light such as the crystals or shafts of sunlight or glowing magma, it’s difficult to make a lot of things work. Because the Core is able to produce electricity due to geothermal activity, we know that the entire Underground is powered, so artificial light can be applied to crops and to every home, though clearly not every single section of the Underground. It’s possible that if Monsters found a safe way into the lower depths, they could easily use the extra room and find ways to power everything. But plant life would be scarce and limited to what artificial stuff they could grow or keep alive. It would be far more oppressive than living at higher points, even with an entire group of people you would begin to display serious psychological problems such as loss of spatial awareness or warped sense of time. This wouldn’t be a problem for most of the Underground because there are areas with large amounts of natural sunlight that leak through. But the deeper you go the more dangerous it becomes mentally. However Monster Biology is somewhat of a mystery to us and though they don’t display the strongest constitution when a human attacks with intent in their soul to do harm, perhaps they’d be more able to adapt for such living conditions since geological phenomena don’t usually possess intent to kill (At least...I hope they don’t.) Furthermore you could not only have dwellings at the bottom of the caves, but tunnels and small caves and stairs dug down into the cliffs beneath the waterfalls. The same can be said for the upper falls as well, allowing for far more territory in the area than can be seen by the player. But danger lurks in the future for the Waterfall area. It may not happen quickly, but as the water continues to flow, the stone that makes up the area will erode or be slowly dissolved. One day the roof of this part of the Underground will collapse. If the damage is extensive enough, the entirety of Waterfall could collapse into the deeper areas below we can only guess at and a massive sinkhole could open up on the surface. This process could take decades or happen very quickly. Hopefully there is enough of a rock barrier between Hotlands and any water displaced by said collapse, as such an influx of water and possible boulders of limestone to the Lava Lake could cause Mt. Ebbot to erupt.