Aren
Aren is a city on the northermost coast of Sayaffallah and also the home of the ballistic nuclear submarine program. The total population of Aren is 125,000.
History
Early Years & Founding
Aren started out as a small fishing village and gradually grew as the shipbuilding industry came to Aren in the late 1500s. During the Islamic invasion Aren joined several other towns in creating a common defence force to fight for the cities and to protect it from invasion. Incidentally the Islamic tribes never made it over the mountains to the south of the towns and thus these towns were never affected by the Islamic invasion.
The Sayaffallan Navy began construction on a major naval base project in 1892 and completed construction on the project by 1915 creating several shipbuilding industries within the base and also slips for both submarines and surface warships. The naval base in its original years survived as the headquarters of Northern Naval Command (NNC)and was the primary area of instruction for winter survival for naval personnel. As such it had a rotating population of 20,000 personnel never dropping below 11,000 personnel at any given time. The naval base was designed to provide projection capabilities into the northern hemisphere of the oceans and to allow for quick access by naval vessels into potential conflict areas.
Civilian Shipyards
In 1930 to compete with demand by the naval base several industrialists constructed large scale civilian shipyards to accommodate an increase in military orders for vessels and to create ice-breaker class vessels for civilian cargo and passenger transit. The demand was enormous and the shipyards employed over 30,000 in its busiest years however in 1940 an economic slowdown forced the yards to be sold off and soon a shopping mall was built over much of the yard.
In 1962 the shipyards were reconverted to their original purpose and shipyards were opened back up and production began in the summer of 1964. These civilian shipyards to this day are a valuable source of employment for the people of Aren.
Environment of Aren
Climate
In spite of the extreme northern location, there is no permafrost, as the mean annual temperature is approximately 2 °C (36 °F), about the same as other places located at a latitude of 61° North. Monthly 24-hr averages range from −5 °C (23 °F) in January to 11 °C (52 °F) in July. Mean annual precipitation is 820 millimetres (32.3 in). The driest months are May, June, and July; with on average of 50 millimetres (2.0 in) of rainfall each month. The wettest period is October through December.[15]
Aren often experiences heavy snowfall in winter typically extending for several hours into the evenings and lasting for weeks on end during the major blizzards that come during the first few months of the year. Snowfall begins to end around mid-April however the cold lasts typically until late May.
Geography
Aren exists on the extreme northermost coast of Sayaffallah beyond the northernmost mountains. Large forests and extensive tiaga are characteristics of the land in and around Aren specifically near to the shoreline. During the winter the small river flowing through Aren to the sea hardens into ice strong enough to support the weight of vehicles and during rush hour traffic many vehicles will drive on the river itself getting out of the river on access ramps located in intervals along the riverbanks. The terrain is generally flat although the farther one gets to the southernmost edges of the city some minor rolling hills can be found.
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