Vidal

The Vidal (: Rio Vidal) is a major river in the western Alutran nation of Watan. The river springs from the Serdoba Range in the Tilarg Mountains, located in the Baixa Cecia province roughly 85 kilometers east of the provincial capital Fawaz, and is Watan's longest river at 735.22 km. The river also hosts Watan's largest river basin, making up a majority of the country's land area. The river is highly used by ship travel and has been for several centuries. The river is also the home of an array of marine life, including several endangered fish and amphibian species which are to the river and its plentiful  and plant life. Along its path, several dams and diversions supply drinking water to key population centres of Watan, and dozens of hydroelectric stations create power. Between dams it follows a very constricted course, but after Cónresa, Saldenia, it has a wide valley, prone to flooding. Its mouth is a large estuary culminating at the major port and city of Foz do Vidal, and also creates the Lagoon Vidal.

The river's etymology derives from "[thing of] life". As its name implies, the river has been a source of life and habitation as far back as the period nearly 50,000 years ago. It has supplied fresh water and a source of food for numerous generations of Tilargi and Watanese people for as long as Watan's existence. Early settlements used the river to establish the Vidalic river system, which was the earliest widespread trade network in the country. Later on, the river was explored by Ventoran explorers, thanks to the river's highly navigable nature. The river is the foundation for many of the country's provincial borders, and also the hearth of many towns and cities, including the nation's second largest city Alhadas.

A majority of the river's tributaries are on the right bank, including the Matanic, Valla, Sotros, Dobrada, and Minix. Major cities which lie on the river include Guagoa, Alhadas, Asturella, Cónresa, Girgos, Meahabegos, Lurcia, Andalla, Covixal, Marcos, Orsisca, and Foz do Vidal. Many more lie on the river's many tributaries.

Course
The Vidal River's source is in the municipality of Caetaros-Botelgro, and is protected within the Vidalic Springs National Reserve, which was established in 1969. The source is located within Lago Buracoza, which is a small lake located near to the border with Threazari.

Preservation laws on the river differ by province, with differing regulations on dams and hydroelectricity. For the most part, however, provinces retain a preservation status for their respective stretches of the Vidal. Matania is the only province which does not have these laws, with dams and hydroelectricity plants lining much of the river. Once the province reaches Saldenha, the restrictive dams cease, and the river transforms into a wide alluvial valley. The river continues through Saldenia, the Barroso, Viticampa, Entrevale, before finally exiting into the Abayadi Sea in Vidalia. The river also marks the border between Matania and Tilara and Colinito.

The mouth of the Vidal River is also the largest estuary in the country. A large portion of the estuary forms the Lagoon Vidal, which is a prime fishing location. Lying on the estuary is Foz do Vidal, Watan's 4th largest urban center.

Name
The Vidal's name has evolved over the many centuries it's been inhabited. In it's early habitation, evidence suggests it was called the Tasift by Tilarg and proto-Tilarg settlers, the meaning of which simply deriving from "stream" or "flowing water". As this name fell out of use due to Manuak influence on Tilarg habitation centers which pushed the Tilarg away from the river, new Ventoran names began to stick, including the Paso and Calle, meaning "passage" and "street" respectively. These names would also fall out of use, and the modern Vidal would form soon after by early Watanese inhabitants, who relied on the river for sustenance and life. Consequently, the river's etymology means [Thing of] life.

Geography
In geographic terms, the Vidal River is separated into two segments: the Upper Vidal and the Lower Vidal. The Upper Vidal designates the portion stretching from its spring to mid-Saldenha, and the Lower Vidal designates the remainder of the river. These two portions are labeled as such to separate the higher and lower altitude regions of the course, which causes differences in marine life, river width, and water-oxygen quantities. The Lower Vidal also signals the start of the Vidal Valley, which is a large valley situated between the Cuellón and Catancia ranges of the Tilarg Mountains.

In the plains regions of the river's course, the Vidal tends to bend and meander often, and culminates in the Diavalo Bend in Saldenha, which is the river's largest and most dramatic curve. In the mountainous portions, the river is usually constricted and narrow, but also deeper on average. The Vidal is the marker for many domestic borders, provincial and municipal alike.

Terrace farming along the Vidal's sometimes hilly banks is commonplace in the Upper Vidal where this landscape is more common. Floodplains in the Vidal valley prove plentiful for more traditional ways of farming and agriculture. These regions are where Watan gets 48% of the country's annual crops, which makes it the biggest agricultural region in the country.

The Núria Bridge, which crosses the Vidal from Entrevale to Vidalia, is one of the oldest bridges in Watan, and is designated a WFIHC cultural site.

Geology
The Upper Vidal lies on a fault line, and slippage along it has caused numerous earthquakes, the major ones being those of 1209, 1888, and 1987. Faults and volcanos are common on the Watanese landscape however, and unique land features is a familiar sight along the entirety of the river's course. In the Matanic regions of the river, tall cliffs on either side of the Vidal is a frequently occurring feature.

Caves are common along the Vidalic cliffsides in the Upper Vidal.

Biology
The Vidal River itself is home to multitudes of river fish species, including most notably the Alutran seabass, Poor cod, and Largemouth bass. The Vidalic Lagoon is home to prawn, crabs, and other shelled species, which are feasted on by the local population. The Vidalic National Wildlife Refuge, located in the Barroso, Viticampa, and Saldenia, is home to a host of wildlife species including kingfishers, herons, eagles, ospreys, wild boar and one of the last packs of wolves in this region, which lives a few miles inland from the river.

History
The history of the Vidal coincides greatly with the history of the rest of Watan. The earliest mentionings of the river date back to early Ventoran exploration logs of 1-100 CE. Early use of the river was of the Vidalic river system, which was a large-scale trade network branching from the source of the Vidal River to the mouth. It is believed that manned caravans of rafts would frequently be sent down the river in order to supply communities with resources such as food or building materials. Items could be "purchased" by supplying items equal in value to the objects purchased. This system would bring large amounts of people to the mouth of the Vidal River, and would bring the foundation of the city of Foz do Vidal.

The Vidal was not always within Watan in its entirety. Prior to the Watanese purchase of Cecia in 1729, the river's source was within the easternmost regions of Ventora, quite close to the Watanese border, which completely split the nation in half.

The Vidal vine-land of the Vidal Valley, long devoted to vineyards, has been designated by WFIHC as a Cultural Site. The wine was taken downriver in flat-bottom boats, to be stored in barrels in cellars in Viticampa, just across the river from Vidalia and the Barroso. Nowadays, port is transported there in tanker trucks.

In the 1960s and 1970s, dams with locks were built along the Matanic segments of the river, allowing river traffic into the upper regions and along provincial borders.



In popular culture
A major river, the Vidal is brought to mind in the songs and stories of the Watanese. A popular traditional Watanese song in Alhadas notes that, while people get older, the Vidal remains young (“My hair getting white, and my smooth skin wears, but Vidal is always young”). The author, Márduino Freitro, wrote a poem that begins: "Vidal is always young, Her crystal water bright and cold, Her singing water stung, Though my hands, my face, my hair grow old, Vidal is always young."