General Characteristics – Mammon

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

Mammon’s two separate oceans create the most distinctive feature of its geography. On most planets, individual oceans form part of one continuous system which separates the continents. On Mammon, the reverse is true. One can travel exclusively on land to 99 percent of the planet’s dry surface, while the planet’s oceans lie separated by expanses of land ranging from 700 to 11,000 kilometers across. Since the two oceans seek two different levels, the concept of “mean sea level” has no physical significance. Mammon’s maps show a reference elevation known as “mean sea level,” computed as the weighted average of the areas and elevations of the two oceans, but not equal to the level of either of them. The planet’s sun exerts the only significant tidal forces on Mammon’s seas, but its effect seems small compared with the effect Earth’s moon has on Earth’s oceans.

Though scientists believe Mammon to be geologically younger than Earth, its surface cooled and solidified much earlier in its development. The rapid cooling apparently trapped a far greater percentage of heavy elements in its crust; so Mammon’s surface is rich in heavy metals such as gold, silver, mercury, uranium, plutonium, and the rare earths.