Baseniga Province
Baseniga Province (Mirselec Baseniga denai), also known as province 11, is a province of Risevne, and the southernmost of the provinces popularly known as the Mountain Provinces. Lying to the north of the Feladmena Plain, where the main range of the Mathormagos veers to move along the coast, it borders Osagona Province to its north, Serteni Province to its northeast, Osbane Province to its west, Abanamide Province to its southwest, and Horeston and Enimdanai provinces to its south. The provincial capital is the city of Argosna.
Being the area of the mountains closest to the main centres of Risevan civilisation, and lying between the kingdoms in the south and the Lavgor Inland Sea to the northeast, Baseniga has since ancient times been an important transportation node. The extensive network of Saosunkemo, or "Slope Paths", which were painstakingly built over centuries into the foothills of the mountains, are still in heavy use these days, albeit modernised and paved; and the Inland Sea Highway, as well as several other cross-mountain highways and railroads, also run through the mountain ranges. The mountainous terrain of the coast, which makes it unsuitable for ports, has in turn made the province heavily reliant on these rail and road links.
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Geography
Baseniga's terrain is dominated by its mountains; the Mathormagos covers most of its area, with mountains stretching right up to coastal cliffs, and most of its cities are located in relatively high altitudes within the many river valleys. Famous peaks include Mount Belhinar, just north of the city of Tomiyaru, and Mount Kaona, which lies on the border between Baseniga and Serteni provinces. The few areas of lowland are concentrated mostly near Mount Kaona, to its west where a large area of wetlands and plains form a highly strategic power centre within the province. The provincial capital of Argosna is set in this region.
The mountains of Baseniga, as with the rest of the provinces on the west of the Inland Sea, receive large amounts of rain every year; as a result the area has a large number of rivers, most of which drain westwards into three major rivers: the Kezarte, the Imon, and the Mosoyana. The profusion of small streams within the borders of the province have earned it the ancient poetic title of Zunainosdenai, literally "Thousand-River-Province". Several rivers also drain eastwards, most notably into the wetlands that surround the foothills of Mount Kaona.
