How does anything in the Neck survive a Northern winter?

[Floki of the Ironborn]

From what we've learned, the Neck is basically like bizarro-Florida. A giant swamp with mangrove trees and marsh plants everywhere, no solid ground that we know of, not to mention the abundance of huge reptiles that are the Westerosi equivalent of alligators or crocodiles. The fact that such animals live in the Neck means that it's got warmer temperatures than the rest of the North, and it must not freeze, even in winter, or else those big reptiles wouldn't be able to survive.

And what gets me is that the Neck is an anomaly. It's implied that Westeros gets warmer the further south you go, since Dorne is one giant desert while the North is freezing cold. But  given what we've learned about the Riverlands, Westerlands, Stormlands, Crownlands, etc, none of them seem to have a climate which is tropical or even sub-tropical. So the continent has one random warm hotspot where the Neck thrives, then you have the milder Riverlands, then the rainforest of the Stormlands (and I mean North American Pacific rainforests, not the ones in Central/South America), and then the deserts of Dorne. It's a continental climate rollercoaster, heh.

[The Jingo]

Either magic or there are a significant number of hot springs in the Neck.

[Curled Finger]

14 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

From what we've learned, the Neck is basically like bizarro-Florida. A giant swamp with mangrove trees and marsh plants everywhere, no solid ground that we know of, not to mention the abundance of huge reptiles that are the Westerosi equivalent of alligators or crocodiles. The fact that such animals live in the Neck means that it's got warmer temperatures than the rest of the North, and it must not freeze, even in winter, or else those big reptiles wouldn't be able to survive.

And what gets me is that the Neck is an anomaly. It's implied that Westeros gets warmer the further south you go, since Dorne is one giant desert while the North is freezing cold. But  given what we've learned about the Riverlands, Westerlands, Stormlands, Crownlands, etc, none of them seem to have a climate which is tropical or even sub-tropical. So the continent has one random warm hotspot where the Neck thrives, then you have the milder Riverlands, then the rainforest of the Stormlands (and I mean North American Pacific rainforests, not the ones in Central/South America), and then the deserts of Dorne. It's a continental climate rollercoaster, heh.

A bizarro Florida indeed.   Keep in mind there are hot springs that warm the walls of Winterfell, so there is some geothermic possibility at play.  For all it's worth I am originally from Florida and though it was usually 80 degrees on Christmas there, there have been many times the citrus crops were ruined by freezes.   Swamps freeze too, but I'm thinking this warm spring at Winterfell may have tentacles in the Neck that could protect it from 80' snows.   And magic.  Always magic.  If wildlings are the closest to the original 1st Men then the Crannogmen are the closest to the COTF humans can get.   

[Groo]

Warm currents in the Bite? Europe would be a great deal colder if it weren't for the warm ocean currents coming up all the way from the Gulf of Mexico. Granted that warm currents in the Bite should make the Three Sisters a good deal warmer than they appear to be. White Harbor probably shouldn't ice up either then. Maybe we'll just stick with continental climate rollercoaster.

[Canon Claude]

12 hours ago, The Jingo said:

Either magic or there are a significant number of hot springs in the Neck.

You’d think more people would live in the Neck, then. It never freezes and there’s no end to food (as long as you don’t mind eating frogs and fish until spring). Or maybe I’m wrong and there’s already a huge crannogmen population. I don’t remember if we were ever told how many of them live there.

[The Jingo]

4 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

You’d think more people would live in the Neck, then. It never freezes and there’s no end to food (as long as you don’t mind eating frogs and fish until spring). Or maybe I’m wrong and there’s already a huge crannogmen population. I don’t remember if we were ever told how many of them live there.

The Neck might be warmer than the rest of the North, but it's still a swamp and bog hell type area. It's called the Fever River for a reason.

Even if you can find food there, it wouldn't do you much good is you've got Bloody Flux or whatever because of it.

[Rondo]

The climate is not only based on latitudes and longitudes.  Reptiles would have a hard time in a cold climate.  But perhaps the Neck does not experience cold winters.  

[Floki of the Ironborn]

12 hours ago, Rondo said:

The climate is not only based on latitudes and longitudes.  Reptiles would have a hard time in a cold climate.  But perhaps the Neck does not experience cold winters.  

That's my point, though. We know that is snows in the North during the winter, and also in the Vale and Riverlands. But this random spot in between all that snow couldn't possibly freeze over or else the big reptiles would die. So it's either a massive blooper, or somehow the Neck stays warm through all the seasons. 

[James Arryn]

It does seem to be a bit of an incongruity. The smell is mentioned a lot, which is probably true of any swampy area but might be made more extreme because of lots of hot springs, or at least could be with a bit of post factum shoehorning. 

[Rondo]

19 hours ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

That's my point, though. We know that is snows in the North during the winter, and also in the Vale and Riverlands. But this random spot in between all that snow couldn't possibly freeze over or else the big reptiles would die. So it's either a massive blooper, or somehow the Neck stays warm through all the seasons. 

 

10 hours ago, James Arryn said:

It does seem to be a bit of an incongruity. The smell is mentioned a lot, which is probably true of any swampy area but might be made more extreme because of lots of hot springs, or at least could be with a bit of post factum shoehorning. 

An inconsistency which can be explained by the existence of a microclimate.  Shoehorning I assume is forcing something to fit.  Yes it looks that way.  

[Universal Sword Donor]

The green men tried to break the north off from westeros, possibly using the same kind of magic the Valyrians used. Volcanic activity could explain the explosion and why the swamp is warmer, the aforementioned hot springs a la Iceland

[Canon Claude]

3 hours ago, Universal Sword Donor said:

The green men tried to break the north off from westeros, possibly using the same kind of magic the Valyrians used. Volcanic activity could explain the explosion and why the swamp is warmer, the aforementioned hot springs a la Iceland

But by that logic, crocodiles would be living in Iceland, no?

[Universal Sword Donor]

32 minutes ago, Canon Claude said:

But by that logic, crocodiles would be living in Iceland, no?

Iceland is a small island versus a swamp attached to a south american size continent. Alligators / crocs would have been living in the area long before it blew up. You can't say the same thing with iceland since it has an isolated population of whatever animals could swim / fly / hitchhike there. 

[Canon Claude]

1 hour ago, Universal Sword Donor said:

Iceland is a small island versus a swamp attached to a south american size continent. Alligators / crocs would have been living in the area long before it blew up. You can't say the same thing with iceland since it has an isolated population of whatever animals could swim / fly / hitchhike there. 

All I can imagine now is some critter with its forepaw balled into a fist with one claw out, holding up a sign which says “Iceland” on it.

[The Young Maester]

Martin didnt put much thought into his worldbuilding. So naturally what we should do is close our eyes and ignore all the flaws. Because most of em are just hard to find an answer for.

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

For that matter, how does the North survive the winter, especially when it lasts for years? In ADWD, it was so cold that several of Winterfell's gates were frozen shut. 

[Groo]

1 hour ago, Takiedevushkikakzvezdy said:

For that matter, how does the North survive the winter, especially when it lasts for years? In ADWD, it was so cold that several of Winterfell's gates were frozen shut. 

I think the "seasons" are more multi-year periods of average temperature change. The North has summer snows. That means "summer" isn't just endless warm sunny days. I suspect "winter" has warmer periods where food can actually be grown but the growing seasons are short and the weather cool. This would mean small harvests and lean hard years for the population.