Norflaan
Norflaan | |
|---|---|
| Country | File:Flag vyv.png Vyvland |
| Province |  Deg |
| Population | 54,616 |
| Time zone | UTC-6 |
| Postcode | C6500-C6800 |
| Website | norflaan.dg.vy |
Norflaan (pronounced /noɾðläːn/) is an island and municipal collective off the northern coast of Deg province, in Vyvland. The island possesses the most northerly point in Vyvland, at Loydenpukt, and the coldest sea-level location in Vyvland, at Eevsdad on the island’s northern coast. The island is administratively controlled at the town of Niyaagen, although Rusderaagen is the largest town and commercial centre. These two towns serve as the island’s only municipalities. Norflaan is accessible only by a ferry from the mainland city of Wesviy to the small port at Mafswujre.
Norflaan's convenient location on trade routes to Northwestern Esquarium, in addition to its light patrol by Vyvlander officials, made the island historically prosper due to legal trade and commerce, in addition to smuggling. At many points during its history, traders from Arkiasis, Vjaarland and Nevanmaa used the island as a stopover point for their vessels, while many stayed on the island, making it then a melting-pot of different cultures. Rusderaagen, the island’s largest town, had become Vyvland’s tenth-largest settlement by 1600, spaning from the northern to the southern coasts of the island.
However, stricter controls from the late seventeenth century onwards set the island on a course of terminal decline. The port at Rusderaagen was tightly controlled, while most foreign ships were only allowed to enter the smaller Niyaagen, which was established in 1706. As such, smuggling declined, but the island’s economy was ruined. Most trade moved to Heersduik and Stiven, in addition to Unolian ports. By 1892, the population was just one-twelfth of that experienced at its seventeenth century peak. To this day, many buildings lie ruined across the island, with little in the way of new construction on the island.
Norflaan is mostly comprised of steep inclines and mountains, with the land rising steeply from the shore up to thin mountain plateaux in the interior. The only significant areas of flat land are around Koylstraand on the island's north and between Eevsdad and Rusderaagen on the north and south coasts respectively. These areas are used primarily for cattle farming, while sheep are kept on the hills. Lamb from Norflaan is highly acclaimed and accordingly expensive.