USING THIS LIST

• FINDING NAMES: Ignore words like "the", "Mt.", or "Lake." Mt. Hathor is under H, Cape Juno is under J.
• EACH ENTRY: the title links to a tour with local maps. Links inside an entry get you simple definitions.
• CAPITALS--Large or famous places are in CAPITALS.
• EAST AND WEST: on Venus, longitude is always measured east, from 0 right up to 359.
  

LADA: 60 S, 330 E to 90

Lada is a wide but broken-up land in the southern hemisphere, due south of Alpha.

• EAST LADA, below the Aino Sea, is nearly continental in size--low and broken-up, but 3000 km long. Mugazo Gulf in the south nearly cuts it in two: to the west are Cape Shiv-Amashe and a mountainous knot--the Kulduroks, the Kshumays, the Loo-Wits, and Cape Asiaq. The north is a skein of low ridges around Xaratanga and Geyaguga Chasmas, which form so many lakes and sounds, the region seems unsure if it's land or sea--like a hot Finland. (Yeah, I know--jumbo shrimp, military intelligence, Web literacy...). Cape Zimcerla, shaped like a rabbit, reaches northeast. The Oshumare Mts lead to the southeastern landmass, Danne-Musun Land, which trails off east into the Flutra Islands. Most of Lada's rainforest, but the far south, Cape Mykh-Imi, is drier--quite Californian.
• CENTRAL LADA is a maze of islands and shallow seas, stretching north to blend with the Alpha Islands, and south nearly to the pole. In size, shape, and latitude, it's like the Canadian arctic--only warm. (Yeah, yeah, and a raven's just like a writing desk.) Major islands: Changxi, Hanghepiwi, Cocomama and Otygen, Okhin-Tengri, Su-Anasy, and Ekhe-Burkhan.
• WEST LADA is a small but unbroken continent (unlike the rest of Lada) with a great highland, Quetzalpetlatl Corona, some 1200 km across. At the southwestern foot of the highland is huge Lake Naijok, 1000 km long. Off its western tip, Cape Kamui, is a huge, lonely island, Neringa.

When you add up the Alpha and Lada Archipelagoes, they're nearly as big as Ishtar, but nowhere are you far from the sea. Like Indonesia times ten--or Ursula Le Guin's "Earthsea" made real.

Lake Lahevhev: 27 N, 185 E

Lake Lahevhev, a marshy, shallow, rectangular lake 240 km and 100 wide, sprawls east-west, just north of the Nokomis Mountains in Atla, a subcontinent of Aphrodite. To the southeast is even larger Lake Reiko; to the northeast is Cape Akiko; to the west is larger Cape Athena.

Laima Mts, Laima coast: 50 N, 40 E

Far southeast Ishtar, south of the east-west Laima Mts, is also called Laima. Range and coast are dense rainforest, growing to great size on Cape Tipporah, reaching toward the great island of Bell. North of the Laimas are huge chasmas--from south to north, Mezas and Mate, twin canyon-lakes each rivaling Lake Michigan; then Baba Yaga, whose name is often used for all these chasmas, then short Moks Chasma by the coast, and Kozhla-Ava, full of lakes. The valley floors are mostly savanna below redrock cliffs capped in subtropical forest.

LAKSHMI PLATEAU: 65 N, 330 E

a Tibet-like plateau on Ishtar, 3 km high, surrounded by the highest mountains on Venus. But Lakshmi itself, unlike Tibet, is fairly flat, except for two large crater lakes, Colette and Sacajawea. Lakshmi is cool, windy, and grassy, rather like the Andean Altiplano, though in the rainshadow of the Freyja Mts, the prairie thins to a chill desert unlike anything else on Venus.

Lake Lalande, see L. De Lalande

Cape Lalohonua: 24 S, 248 E

A green peninsula the size of Spain, Lalohonua is the west end of the subcontinent of Parga. Lake Dilga and Galindo lie to the east; to the northwest, over Dilga Strait, are the cliffs of Cape Atete, part of the Terra of Chondi. Lalohonua's between the rainshadow to the west and the torrid zone to the south, so it gets light rains and mild temperatures, sustaining open forests. Lalohonua's a corona bounded by cliffs, not as high or dramatic as Atete, but still forming a wall round a central plateau, which is mostly conifer forest, except the Lake Lalohonua basin in the east. Vast coral reefs encrust the peninsula's shallow shores.

Mt. Lanig: 66 S, 90 E

Mt Lanig is probably the highest point in East Lada, though that's not saying much, since the whole continent is gentle--low hills broken up by long sounds. Lanig is rainy and mist-shrouded, catching storms both off the Antarctic and the Aino Sea to the north; but it rarely if ever gets snow--just too low. The two Lanig Lakes at its feet are each about 100 km long and fifty wide. The Lanig region's in the southeast, just north of Cape Mykh-Imi and east of Cape Ambar-ona in the Mugazo Gulf.

Lasdona Lakes: 67 N, 30 E

Lasdona Chasma in north central Ishtar runs off the Maxwell Mts, and holds a chain of good-sized lakes. Cold dry winds pour off the Maxwells and the Lakshmi Plateau, stunting and wind-blasting the low woods of the uplands; south-facing ridges are often bare micro-deserts. The Lasdona River emerges from the hills at last to drain into one of the biggest lakes on Venus, Lake Daura, near Ishtar's north coast. The lower valley's a cooler version of inland California: hills of oak savanna fed only by sparse nocturnal rain and coastal fogs.

Latmikaik: 64, 121 E

An island east of Lada, part of the Flutra Chain. Latmikaik's about 100 km across, and is north of the central chain. The climate's Mediterranean--grassy shores below wooded inland hills. Deobako lies due south; to the east is lonely Katl-Imi, due west is Pahto, and southwest is Flutra itself, by far the largest.

LATONA LAKES, Latona Chasma: 23 N, 270 E

A chain of lakes 1200 km long and 400 wide, dividing Beta and its western subcontinent, Asteria. South Latona Lake, 320 km wide and dotted with islands, empties into Hinemoa Gulf, part of the Hecate Sea; the small Latona Islands hug the seashore east of the outlet. Middle Lake lies in the wide prairies of Asteria. West Lake is long and narrow, reaching deep into Asteria's western mountains, below Mt. Polik-mana; the chasm and its ridges go on to form Latona Bay and Cape on the far side of Asteria. To the north is the largest of the four lakes, Asteria, 400 km long; it nearly severs the land-bridge between Beta and the Asterian subcontinent.

Lake Latta: 40 S, 290 E

A deep mountain lake 200 km long in central Themis, nestled between two arms of the Shulamite Range(Latta and Tacoma Coronas) and the southerly Zywie Mts. One of a chain of six great lakes winding 1600 km through the mountain chasmas of central Themis, called the High Lakes. The region is hot and rainy, though being an upland somewhat sheltered by mountains, it's less steamy and stormy than the Themis lowlands--but that just means six meters of rain a year instead of 12.

Laufey Islands: 0-5 S, 306 E

The Laufeys are a chain 650 km long on the east coast of Phoebe, near the equator, off Poloznitsa Lagoon and Wen Shu Bay. Laufey itself, in the north, is a rugged sliver 220 km long and only 30 wide. Wen Shu Island, the second largest, in the south, is a 180-km spider. Both (and the lesser isles between) have dry grassy shores and open woods in the uplands.

Cape Laverna: 47 S, 130 E

In Artemis at the southern tip of Aphrodite, Cape Laverna is a slender, rugged forked tongue 320 km long and less than 50 wide, sticking into the Aino Sea. Cape Laverna angles southwest, sheltering a long stretch of the Artemis coast--Laverna Bay. Beyond are several low, nameless islands defining the outer edge of Jalgurik Sound. To the east is a twin, Cape Biliku; between them lies Biliku Bay, 250 km wide. The coast and both capes are hot steamy rainforest--the wettest part of Aphrodite for at least 5000 km.

LAVINIA SEA: 45 S, 345 E

a narrow but deep southern sea, between Alpha, Dione and Lada. While islands and reefs dot Lavinia's margins and shallower north end, the wedge of the Hippolyta Islands sticks like a thorn in its heart.

LEDA SEA: 45 N, 60 E

a small sea just east of Ishtar, bounded by Tellus and Bell to the south and east. Leda is not wide, but rather deep (for Venus). The Leda Islands in its southeast, off Tellus, are dense rainforest--like most of Leda's shores.

Cape Ledoux: 10 S, 230 E

A cape on the southeast coast of Aphrodite, where the Parga Chasma complex comes ashore. It's 450 km long, but Ledoux is almost lost between Cape Lesavka and Cape Taussig, both much larger. It's named for Mt. Ledoux, a Fuji-like cone at the peninsula's narrow base.

LEMKECHEN: 18 N, 70 E

An island 900 km long and 300 wide, off the tip of Unelanuhi Peninsula, in northwest Aphrodite. Lemkechen is about the size of Spain or Japan, and resembles southern Japan or Taiwan in climate, with deep broadleaf forests. Two capes at its east end, flanking Mosaido Bay, lead to Kunhild and the Unelanuhi mainland. In the south, Uti Hiata, the island's highest peak, looks out over the large Riley Is.. The ridge forming Lemkechen continues west as the small Marere Is.

Lengdin Mts, Isthmus of Lengdin: 5 N, 222 E

A corona forming a pine-topped plateau in east Aphrodite, some 500 km long; ridges radiate in all directions from the central mass. To the west is Zewana Gulf; to the east, Itoki Bay; to the north, the Isthmus of Lengdin and the Zisa Mts.

The Isthmus of Lengdin is a narrows in east Aphrodite; north of it is the subcontinent of Ulfrun. To the south are the Lengdin Mts. The Isthmus is a low point in the mountains of east Aphrodite, thus a window for storms; Cape Ayrton and Yuvkha Island, downwind, are rainier than the rest of Aphrodite's east coast.

Cape Lesavka: 4 N, 223-231 E

A wide wedge of veldt on the southeast coast of Aphrodite, tapering into the Hecate Sea for 6-700 km, 360 km wide at the base. The name's deceptive--it's low, flat land, not really much of a spur of Lesavka Chasma (see below). Prevailing winds are from the inland desert, but the cape receives some rain off the sea, and sustains dry grass and a little brush.

Lesavka Chasma: 0 to -8 S, 210-220 E

Lesavka Sound is a long, narrow southeast arm of Ozza Sound. Lesavka Chasma crosses the trough holding Ozza Sound, and the chasma floods for 600 km. Just beyond the southern ridge of the chasma, Lake Kicheda, even longer and narrower, fills the parallel Kicheda Chasma. The land around Lesavka and Kicheda is dry, being in the rainshadow of Mt Maat and the Ozza Range.

Cape Lhamo: 48 S (tip), 9 E

The northern tip of West Lada--a long, narrow peninsula wrapped in steamy rainforest. Lhamo's terrain is spectacular and unearthly: large tessera (a regular pattern of mesas and canyons) are covered in thick, misty jungle, with red cliffs sprouting emerald ferns and trees from every crack. Manatum Tessera in west Aphrodite also has this combination of dramatic desert-like mesas and forest, but Lhamo is much hotter and wetter--so rainy that every mesa generates waterfalls, like Roraima on Earth, though lower. Its only real rival is the Cocomama Tessera on south Otygen, which isn't quite as lush (though Terran and Martian tourists may find the cooler, drier climates of Manatum and Cocomama more bearable).

Li Qingzhao Island: 23 N, 93 E

A tall peak rising from the Niobe Sea 1000 km southeast of Tellusand 500 east of Ereshkigal. It's the highest peak among the many Niobe archipelagoes, but how large the island is around its feet, I'm not sure--100 km at least, but how much more? The slopes are gentle; it's hard to tell. The central peak will be densely wooded; the east slope and the low coastal plain will be open woods and meadows. Just to the north are the small Manzolini Islands, then huge Shimti.

Libby: 34 S, 199 E

Libby is a chasma-ridge that surfaces as a slender island 120 km long, about 250 km northeast of Imdr in the Aino Ocean. Though small, Libby is fertile (rainforest), heavily populated (mostly by megaparrots), and a major transit hub (between Aphrodite and Imdr). The next isle on the flyway north to Aphrodite is Nott.

Lida Bay: 38 N, 278 E

A bay 100 km wide and deep, near the north tip of Beta, west of Cape Daphne and Sasha Bay. The shores aren't quite as hot as Daphne, but this is still tropical rainforest--the wettest part of Beta. Offshore is Rauni Island.

Cape Lilwani: 33 S, 275 E

A wide, low, rolling peninsula near the base of Parga in west Themis, Cape Lilwani is just southwest of Lake Gertjon. It's just outside the torrid zone, so Lilwani is warm and wooded but not steamy like much of Themis.

Le Shen Valley: 10 S, 90 E

This valley cuts deep into southwest Ovda, in west Aphrodite. It's L-shaped, and at the bend, it holds Lake Le Shen, a near-twin to Lake Kwanja to the east: long (600 km), narrow and deep, fed by streams descending from the green highlands around the canyon. Cut off from sea winds, Le Shen Valley has a harsh continental climate--hot days and surprisingly chilly nights. The marshy lake shore is fertile, as are the wooded streambeds down the canyon walls, but the valley slopes are desert--bare redrock walls.

Cape Lola: 15 N, 261 E

A cape about 80 km long, thrusting from Asteria (western Beta) into Hinemoa Gulf. Just to the east is a twin, Cape Montez. The names refer to dancer Lola Montez; presumably from orbit they looked like dancing legs. Both capes are steep, rocky ridges narrowing to a couple of miles in spots, covered in aromatic chaparral and salt-adapted flowers. The land feels a bit like the French Riviera. In place of the Maritime Alps are the ridgy heights of the Baranamtarra Mountains, harvesting the sparse rains of Hinemoa and sending down short, fierce streams. The Montez Capes are a jumping-off place for the Isle of Aruru.

Loo-Wit Mts and Lake Loo-Wit: 59 S, 53 E

A range in East Lada, near the west coast, south of the Kshumay Mts and north of Cape Shiv-Amashe. Lake Loo-Wit is south of the mountains, at the base of Cape Shiv-Amashe. East of the Loo-Wits is Geyaguga Bay, a forked chasma cutting 3-400 km into Lada.. The Loo-Wit mountains are rain- and cloud-forest; the lowlands to the east are hotter, but not quite as humid.

Loretta: 25 S, 205 E

Loretta's 1000 km long, and never more than 50 wide. The world's skinniest island sprawls off southeast Aphrodite, just east of Cape Stanton. Loretta has a mild marine climate, with more fog and drizzle than rain. Loretta's ridges are golden dry grass, seamed with scattered oaks and pines in the valleys. To the east lies rugged little Villepreux, 200 km long--a half-drowned patera. North of Loretta, over Jokwa Sound and its rocky islands, the coast is grassy, drying inland to the huge Jokwa Desert, broken only by Foquet Marsh, an impact crater that'd be a lake anywhere else.

Lowana Sea, Lowana Islands: 40 N, 95 E

The Lowana Sea is the relatively shallow and island-dotted part of the Niobe Ocean just west of Tellus. The sea has no exact boundaries, but covers a couple of million square km. The largest archipelagoes are the Shimtis and Kutues. In the center of the sea rise the Lowana Islands (named in desperation, since none of their features are named--not even a nearby crater). East Lowana is a wide low, gentle island 160 km across with a few satellites, covered in rainforest. West Lowana is far more dramatic: a wedge of narrow twisting islands, one of them 200 km long, all of them rugged and cliffwalled--with the constant heavy rains, waterfalls leap from the cliffs into the sea.

The Low Lakes: 45 S, 285-295 E

A chain of three great lakes, 1000 km long, in southern Themis: Lakes Meiboia, Nzambi and Siduri. Called "low" to distinguish them from a parallel chain of six more great lakes in the highlands just north of them--the High Lakes. Yes, that's a lot of lakes. If you got twelve meters of rain a year, you'd have a lot of lakes too.

Ludjatako Island: 12 S, 250 E

The size of Ireland, Ludjatako lies in the Hecate Sea, just north of the strait between Parga and Chondi. The climate's Hawaiian, though a little drier, with microclimates based on altitude and rainshadows. Rainforests cover the northwest; the southeast has open forests, prairies and desert canyons.

Lukelong: 75 N, 185 E

Lukelong is in the Molpe Is., part of the Surupa Archipelago west of Ishtar. Lukelong's only 50 km wide but fully 290 km long, a single wooded ridge winding through the sea--redwoods on the west, oak savanna on the east. To its west are the smaller Dickinson Islands; to the east, Molpe itself. Despite its polar latitude, Lukelong never freezes--this is Venus, after all!

Lullin: 24 N, 81 E

Lullin, about 40 km wide, is a pleasant, wooded subtropical island north of Kunhild and south of Tellus, known mostly as a resting point for fliers between Tellus and west Aphrodite. Lullin may be a ring-island with a central crater-lake. It's hard to be sure.

Lumimuut Islands: 12 S, 235 E

Two islands, each 150-200 km wide, in the Hecate Sea, off southeast Aphrodite. The Lumimuuts curve around the rim of Toma Deep like the frame of a circular mirror. The similar Dziwicas line the south edge of the hole. All the islands are low, warm and grassy, with sparse trees--they're downwind from the deserts of Aphrodite.

Lyon: 70 S, 277 E

An island 120 km long, off Neringa's southwest coast. Lyon is hilly, with an Oregonian climate--foggy, rather windy, from mild to chilly, but never freezing. Night rains support conifers on the hills, meadows and oaks on the drier slopes. Grapevines do well on Lyon. To the north is larger, warmer Vesuna.

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