Aphrasians
The Aphrasians are a mountain chain in western Messenia. The mountain range extends from Odann in the north, where it blends into the Odannach Uplands, to Soeria where its foot almost reaches the Median coastline. Between those two extremities, the range straddles multiple countries: Fiobha, Tvåriken, Vettermark, Västrahamn, Helminthasse, Grand Fenwick, Elland, and Alcasia. Notably, Vettermark, Västrahamn, and Grand Fenwick lie completely within the range above altitudes of 800 metres at minimum.
The range's highest peak is Rykesfell, in Grand Fenwick, reaching an altitude of 3,127 metres above sea-level. The Rykesfell range is the only one that passes above 3,000 metres in the Aphrasians; the remaining higher ranges generally rise to 2,400–2,500 metres (roughly found at the crestline from southern Vettermark to north-western Alcasia). The Aphrasians also subsume a number of smaller ranges, including the Sarlhamar in southern Helminthasse, the Woestenberg in western Alcasia and the Hawksheads and Burnaby Tops in western Elland.
Etymology
The name "Aphrasian" derives from the Hártal Upprásarfjöll, which translates as “[the] sunrise mountains” (Hártal sólarupprás, “sunrise”), in reference to their position in the east of the Siur country; while other names exist in other countries in the region, this name has been carried in modified form into general usage in neighbouring languages (e.g. Savamese aphrasien(ne), Zepnish afräsisch(e) and Dael afraiseach).
Economy
With some exceptions the Aphrasians were remote and sparsely populated until comparatively recent times, and their economy was largely based on subsistence farming in the lower-lying and more level regions, or pastoral animal-rearing. The principal industry in some regions, in particular in Helminthasse or Odann, was logging, which supported the Siursk or Odannach shipbuilding industries. The mountains also provided significant deposits of tin and some other strategic metals.
In the last fifty years some efforts have been made to promote income through tourism; the range contains some modest ski resorts, and is popular as a destination for distance hiking in summer. Additionally, some of the faster-flowing mountain rivers have been bent to the generation of hydro-electricity. Geological assays in the region have identified significant deposits of minerals and industrial metals, including the presence of a number of rare earth elements.