Geology of Skyrim: Ores, Volcanoes, and The Rift

Check out more leftover lore...

00:00 - Intro
01:50 - Ores
05:30 - Volcanoes
07:27 - The Rift
10:10 - The End

Download the map featured in this video (.png/.xcf with layers)

This was layered from Caites's Survey map & mod:
Which was layered from Tim Cook's topographic map:

Welcome to Geology in Skyrim! Between Elder Scrolls Online, Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, there are a lot of really cool clues about what lies beneath Tamriel, and how it shaped the landscape. TESV - featuring the most accurate earth science of any TES game - features clues about how we can date the landscape, ores, and even tell a story with how simple things like ebony are placed. Did Red Mountain steal power from the Throat of the World? Is the Rift really a Rift? What about Eastmarch's geysers and hot springs? Find out this and more!

LeftoverPat Argonian made by LizardBusiness
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[RESOURCES]
u/Nathan_RH's geological survey writeups

Nick Zentner
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[MUSIC] - in order
Outset Island - LoZ: The Windwaker
Leftover Lore Theme - LeftoverPat
Behold the Great Science Fi - Age of Mythology
Hymn in the Rain - calculon
A Winter's Tale - TES5: Skyrim
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[TheSaival]

I wonder if skyrim geology kinda making sense sometimes is a result of deliberate planning or just an effect of unconsciouss knowledge about real world terrain.

[ashesuponashes]

I have been personally working on a somewhat speculative "larger" Tamriel Map, where it is sized-up to somewhat akin to how Daggerfall was.
Something I think could be interesting is that instead of a tectonic break-up; Auridon and some nearby islands are instead on a Geologic Hotspot; similar to Japan, Taiwan and the Phillipines.
Whilst we have no real image of Pyandonea, it seems people generally agree it is Crescent Shaped. Which could further indicate that it is along a Fault Line with Auridon; dependent on how close or far it is from Tamriel

[Sparking_Ram]

Waiting for one of the Devs to come out for an interview and get bombarded with Geological questions.

[Iskaid]

Ebony is Lorkhan's dried blood, and the potential reason why it is concentrated in Morrowind and the regions of Eastmarch/The Rift is because Auriel shot Lorkhan's freshly ripped out heart across the world and into the ocean, where it became embedded and formed Vvardenfell. It could have been that a significant amount of blood seeped into the ground at those areas before landing in Morrowind and that's why there are Ebony deposits in eastern Skyrim.

Theories also exist saying that a drop of his blood fell into a magical well (the kind that the Ayleids would later mass produce around Cyrodiil) and it formed the jewel in the Amulet of Kings. I don't know how that would be considering they shot it from Daggerfall to Vvardenfell, it didn't even cross over Cyrodiil.

[gflyever]

Many years after the game came out and Bethesda's details still impresses me

[fergusdickson]

Ebony ore was the blood dripping from lorkhans heart as it shot over tamriel

[dakinademino]

I'm just curious if Nirn is going through a volcanic winter in the fourth era following the Red Mountain eruption.

[franciscocarter]

I love this shit way too much. Keep it up, even if you don't see immediate viewership results.

[chadpattypersonal]

Radiant Dawn remix in an elder scrolls lore video what a masterpiece

[shaqsmith]

I think that the stories of the elder scrolls universe is like how we in the real world interpret it from a religious standpoint but science might reveal something more natural. I think this is the case for a lot of events in the elder scrolls.

[mysticranger]

really well done video and professional for such a small channel! how many more great vvideos am i missing out on???

[Bitterman]

Fact: all of Ebony in TES is where the blood drops of the Heart of Lorkhan fell before hitting the Bay where Vvardenfel would be formed and become its prison.

[youtubeaccount]

The Rift feels like Oblivion and Bruma feels like Skyrim

[likeworks]

On the age of Nirn: remember that the universe is just a dream of the Godhead. So, if you were a godlike being, able to dream so hard you created a universe, you might dream up a world that matches geological formation even if you dont dream up the timeline long enough for that to happen.

[chloeirvine]

The hotsprings I was disappointed were not more dangerous, being once to Yellowstone and learning about it.

[danieldodson]

Oh my god. Every tower has a core or stone. The stone of Snow Throat (The Tower name of the Throat of the World) is said to be a cave. What if the stone of Snow Throat is actually the empty magma chamber that once housed/stood above the heart of Lorkhan before the continent shifted?

[Celestial_Wing]

If the volcanic springs are the equivalence of Yellowstone for Skyrim, then holy shit Skyrim is going to be obliterated if that thing erupts again.

[charion]

True, this world has existed for 7000 years. But there were previous kalpas. Maybe the destruction of the world isn't as complete as it's implied. Especially if sentient trees survived.

[mateusfolletto]

Fatansy gets way more interesting when it makes sense. Even the metaphysics of magic and spirituality of cults and religions inside it must make sense in order for it all to work. Skyrim geology is messy but it works in that sense, as does the spiritula and metaphysical aspects of Nirn in comparisong tour real world philosophies.

[atlas_of_prescottia]

Gabbro & Pegmatite literally sound like Pokémon names.