Pasocada Basin

The Pasocada Basin was a harsh land far north of the rest of Maztica, with which it had very little contact. It was, accordingly, very different both culturally and environmentally.

Geography
The Pasocada Basin was defined as the area drained by the Pasocada River and its tributaries. The mountains surrounding the basin caused a rain shadow and created a arid desert region despite the Basin's temperate temperatures (for instance, the average rainfall was 15 inches per year, but it snowed during winter).

The basin was scattered with mesas and buttes that towered over gullies and canyons. These had been carved by seasonal rains which also deposited great banks of sand. The area was mostly rocky and covered with brush (such as hardy plants like cacti, grasses, and yucca). Rivers and streams flowed through the canyons and gullies, overflowing in flash floods each spring, and wild animals such as coyotes, antelope, bison, and lizards thrived.

The mountains surrounding the basin had much more rainfall, and their slopes were covered in coniferous forests (trees such as pine, fir, aspen, and spruce), and were home to such animals as deer, bears, and foxes. Higher in the mountains, above the treeline, the air was much colder and the landscape was perpetually covered in snow. Only yeti and some aarakocra could live here.

The salt flats were areas of the desert where bodies of saltwater had long since evaporated, leaving only the crystalline salt deposits behind. Animals could be found on the edges of a salt flat, but neither plants nor animals lived within (an Earth elemental could occasionally be found, though).

Places of interest

 * Pasocada River: A massive river that drained much of the Pasocada Basin before emptying into the western ocean.
 * Long Canyon: A great canyon carved by the Pasocada River.
 * Michaca: Also called the City of Gold, it was the largest settlement in the Pasocada Basin.
 * The Black Mesa: A large mesa with plentiful coal deposits.

Inhabitants
The Pasocada Basin was home to humans and elves, called Poscadar elves. There were three different human cultures: the agrarian Azuposi, the coastal Metahel, and the nomadic Nahopaca.