Hidden Natural resources of the north

[Mrstrategy]

Could the North be really full of undiscovered resources that are just waiting to be discovered based on the idea that the North is a larger medieval versions of the following countries  scotland/England,Russia, or Scandinavia ?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_United_Kingdom#Natural_resources

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Russia#Natural_resources_and_land_use

 

[Aebram]

I'd say it's possible, but I doubt that it will play any part in the story. There haven't been any hints or foreshadowing about this so far. The one exception might be House Manderly,  with their  trove of silver;  maybe they found a mine somewhere near White Harbor. Remember, this is a medieval society. They don't have much use for oil or gas or magnesium.

[Daeron the Daring]

On 2/7/2021 at 10:49 PM, Mrstrategy said:

Could the North be really full of undiscovered resources that are just waiting to be discovered based on the idea that the North is a larger medieval versions of the following countries  scotland/England,Russia, or Scandinavia ?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_the_United_Kingdom#Natural_resources

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Russia#Natural_resources_and_land_use

 

Given that the area the northern mountains is just as big as the Westerlands, I doubt nothing worthy is there. But it is occupied by mountain clans/houses, people who live a not as advanced life as Lords do. The weather is also harsh up there. 

There is also no city worth mentioning on the west coast of the North, nor the lands south and southwest to Barrowton seem to be very populated, nor fishing is a popular profession.

[Moiraine Sedai]

Cruel places breed cruel people.  Luwin was talking about the Ironborn but the same applies to the Starks and the other savages who inhabit the harsh north.  The growing seasons are short.  The whole north only has one place which can be called a city.  There will be little value unless gold and precious materials are under the ground.  The north is poor.

 

[Alyn Oakenfist]

2 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said:

to the Starks and the other savages who inhabit the harsh north.

Wow! Just wow! Tell me what exactly makes the Starks savages as you so put it. I'm genuinely curious to see you elaborate this unique point of view more

[ShimShim]

I'd be surprised if the northern mountains don't have any natural resources that could be extracted, some metals that could be valuable. Problem is the harshness of the environment, and probably lack of sufficient labor force to extract it, since the North doesnt have the biggest population. I mean I assume there are specialists the Starks or whatever lord could hire to do whatever kind of survey people in a quasi medieval setting could do to try to find some ore mines/veins, and then hire some professional miners to help extract them. I mean honestly I'd be surprised if they didnt try and find any before. 

[CamiloRP]

10 hours ago, Moiraine Sedai said:

Cruel places breed cruel people.  Luwin was talking about the Ironborn but the same applies to the Starks and the other savages who inhabit the harsh north.  The growing seasons are short.  The whole north only has one place which can be called a city.  There will be little value unless gold and precious materials are under the ground.  The north is poor.

 

Great comment, not bigoted at all.

[John Suburbs]

The north is chock full of wood, stone, furs and probably ore of all kinds. This is why people are falling over themselves to wed Sansa and her claim. Not only are these valuable trade goods, but they are vital to feudal warfare.

[John Suburbs]

19 hours ago, Alyn Oakenfist said:

Wow! Just wow! Tell me what exactly makes the Starks savages as you so put it. I'm genuinely curious to see you elaborate this unique point of view more

I think she was referring to how southerners view northerners in general, just a step above the wildlings in the Vale and north of the Wall.

[The Commentator]

4 minutes ago, John Suburbs said:

The north is chock full of wood, stone, furs and probably ore of all kinds. This is why people are falling over themselves to wed Sansa and her claim. Not only are these valuable trade goods, but they are vital to feudal warfare.

Wood is plenty in the south.  The north’s commodity of value are the fur of wolves.  It is one of the last places on anyone’s dream list. There is little of commercial value there.  

[Alyn Oakenfist]

5 minutes ago, Widowmaker 811 said:

Wood is plenty in the south.  The north’s commodity of value are the fur of wolves.  It is one of the last places on anyone’s dream list. There is little of commercial value there.  

Timber varies by species. Northern types of wood in our real world, are usually better than more temperate types, so that is one big thing the North has in it's favor.

Also beavers should be quite the thing.

[Daeron the Daring]

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/389209592796196148/

Given this map we can see how much the North is occupied by mountains and forests. Still. I just don't get how it's western side is so not populated at all. It is even ligical to have the coast of the Neck populated, and also how the land south and southwest to Barrowton aren't populated as much as they should be. I mean even Oldtown is closer to that region than it is to the Free Cities, not to mention Lannsiport and the Iron Islands. 

I'd just expect that region to be as rich as the lands of House Manderly, and the coast (especially the southern) of the Neck a lot more populated.

The other problem with the mountain regions is simply that it's occupied by mountain clans. Those people likely give a damn about anything more than what's necesarry for them.

[Aebram]

Westeros was settled by people who came from Essos. Even after the Arm was broken, the Eastern coast of Westeros was relatively easy to reach by ship from the Free Cities. To reach the Western coast, ships must sail around Dorne, which does not have many good harbors or supplies of food and water. Also, on the West coast you have the iron Islands, whose culture of piracy and ratidng must have been a major deterrent to settlement.

It might be helpful to compare the North to real-life Alaska. It has lots of valuable resources, but its remote location and harsh climate have kept the population low.  It also happens to be quite large, with almost as much area as the entire rest of the U.S.; an interesting parallel with the North vis-a-vis the rest of Westeros.

[CamiloRP]

1 hour ago, Aebram said:

Westeros was settled by people who came from Essos. Even after the Arm was broken, the Eastern coast of Westeros was relatively easy to reach by ship from the Free Cities. To reach the Western coast, ships must sail around Dorne, which does not have many good harbors or supplies of food and water. Also, on the West coast you have the iron Islands, whose culture of piracy and ratidng must have been a major deterrent to settlement.

It might be helpful to compare the North to real-life Alaska. It has lots of valuable resources, but its remote location and harsh climate have kept the population low.  It also happens to be quite large, with almost as much area as the entire rest of the U.S.; an interesting parallel with the North vis-a-vis the rest of Westeros.

I get this, but still Oldtown and Lannisport are some of the most successful port cities and are western. 

[Aebram]

1 hour ago, CamiloRP said:

Quote

 

Westeros was settled by people who came from Essos. Even after the Arm was broken, the Eastern coast of Westeros was relatively easy to reach by ship from the Free Cities. To reach the Western coast, ships must sail around Dorne, which does not have many good harbors or supplies of food and water. Also, on the West coast you have the iron Islands, whose culture of piracy and ratidng must have been a major deterrent to settlement.

It might be helpful to compare the North to real-life Alaska. It has lots of valuable resources, but its remote location and harsh climate have kept the population low.  It also happens to be quite large, with almost as much area as the entire rest of the U.S.; an interesting parallel with the North vis-a-vis the rest of Westeros.

 

I get this, but still Oldtown and Lannisport are some of the most successful port cities and are western. 

Hey, every rule has its exceptions.  

Oldtown is located at the Southwest corner of the continent; it's the easiest part of the West Coast to reach by ship. And the area around Lannisport has gold mines, which are an exceptionally attractive reason to settle there. (Again, there's a parallel with Alaska.)

Both of these cities are well South of the iron Islands, which reduces the risk of attack.

[John Suburbs]

On 2/10/2021 at 10:45 AM, Widowmaker 811 said:

Wood is plenty in the south.  The north’s commodity of value are the fur of wolves.  It is one of the last places on anyone’s dream list. There is little of commercial value there.  

 

On 2/10/2021 at 10:51 AM, Alyn Oakenfist said:

Timber varies by species. Northern types of wood in our real world, are usually better than more temperate types, so that is one big thing the North has in it's favor.

Also beavers should be quite the thing.

Beat me to it. The good hard woods that make for strong buildings, catapults, trebuchets and the like are more prevalent the farther north you go. Oak, ash, maple, plus the software firs and pines that have their uses as well. And since the north is home to First Men who have been worshipping trees for thousands of years, the Wolfswood is more likely to be old growth than the south, which the original First Men decimated with their axes. 

The most detailed maps are found in the Lands of Ice and Fire, and it shows the Wolfswood as the single largest forested area south of the Wall, with several smaller forests near Last Hearth and Karhold. There is also a large, but lighter colored forest area west of the Neck. In the south, there is a small forest on Crackclaw Point, which we visit in Brienne travels, an even smaller one near Crakehall, plus the Rainwood on Cape Wrath and the Kingswood, which is also lighter green that I take to mean less densely treed. Everywhere else is either largely desert (Dorne), farmland (the Reach), stony hills (the westerlands) and more open lands (the Riverlands), plus the mountainous Vale. This is not to say there are no trees in these other areas, but they are nowhere near as abundant as the north and, again, are likely to be be relatively new growth.

[Lady_Qohor]

In terms of fuel, I would guess there is quite a lot of undiscovered coal in the North along with quite a lot of peat that in both the Neck (there's a House Peat) and in the moors. I doubt that this is something that will be explored much in the books though, GRRM doesn't seem that interested in economy and trade which is probably just as well because then they would take even longer to write.