Re: Reinventing Barsoom: 1 planetology and geography
Another possibility is something like C.S. Lewis' conception of Malacandra in "Out of the Silent Planet". The atmosphere on the planet's surface is cold and thin, but canals are actually deep, immense artificial canyons where the air is breathable and where heat from the planet's core keeps things warm. And how did these artificial canyons come to be? Well, you probably won't want to use Lewis' explanation, that they were dug by Divine Powers when the planet lost most of its atmosphere in a cosmic disaster. On the other hand, you can just leave it as a mystery and have the "Oyarsa dug them" story be a myth the natives tell.
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