Hadqui

The Hadqui is a great desert that lies to the west of the Core Realms and to the east of the Kingdom of Nuheres. While the Hadqui is known as a desert, it is not the traditional hot-dry sand desert.

As a matter of fact, the Hadqui is considered dangerous, and much more so than the Great Alsabaster Desert, because of the extreme variability of the climate.

The Hadqui is by far the driest known place in the world of Ceres, and it is made more dangerous by the fact that without warning, the temperature can fluctuate from below freezing, to unbearably hot baking temperatures. This weather fluctuation is usually determined by the frontal direction of weather systems approaching the area. Northern cold fronts bring the fiercest winds that blast erosion and cold air into the Hadqui canyons.

Geography
The Hadqui is geographically a rocky sedimentary basin that rests on the transtion between the western plateau periphery and the eastern plains. The Nuerna River flows into the region from the Nuheres region, and empties into the western Hadqui in an alluvian plain. Years of erosion from the Nuerna and northern prevailing winds have carved badlands out of the basin, forming a massive maze of desert canyons and rocky terrain.

Because of the seasonal freeze-thaw cycles, rockslides frequently occur, chanaging the course of easily navigatable trails. The canyon spaces are especially vulnerable to extremely strong winds.

The Eastern Hadqui has comparably more level terrain compared to the western end. However, it is highly rocky and would geographically be classified as a type of Hamada Desert. The eastern end is also comparably larger and hotter than the western plateau, and has more of an appearance of a "desert".