Waterfall City

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Dinotopia’s centre of culture and learning. While Sauropolis is the political and economic heart of the nation, Waterfall City is its jewel. With its impressive library, concert hall, and many museums and galleries, Waterfall City is the hub of Dinotopia’s artists and craftsmen.

The city itself is set atop awe-inspiring waterfalls, and every hundred years or so they need to divert the river in order to rebuild the cliff beneath the city, worn away by the massive amounts of water. Water is present to great degrees within the city itself as well, with many fountains and canals, much like that of Venice. The sound of the waterfalls is a constant presence, as is the mist created by them.

Waterfall City is where all new dolphinbacks are brought to register as new arrivals and to learn Dinotopian writing, history, and ethics.

In the wake of the earthquake’s devastation, Waterfall City is a sad remnant. While the citizens are used to buttressing their city’s foundations due to the ever-present pound of the water, what they face now is rather more severe. Canals have been dammed with debris, causing them to flood into the streets. Buildings have suffered a varying range of damage. Some parts of the city have been lost entirely, and others, such as the Grand Promenade and the Rosy Morning Promenade, are no longer safe to traverse.

The largest change is the presence of temporary dwellings in the form of tents and pavilions, located in the Parade Plaza and Juggler’s Plaza, and within the library’s gardens.

Image references: [1], [2], [3]

Aqua Stadium

Part water-stadium and part theme-park, the Aqua Stadium is a gigantic structure featuring a pool surrounded by a massive amphitheatre, and a fine selection of water slides. In the lower levels, underneath the stadium, are the Dolphin Caverns, where humans and saurians can interact with Dinotopia’s dolphins.

The Aqua Stadium is closed due to damage caused by the earthquake.

Image references: [1]

Celestial Dome

A massive pyramid topped by a great dome. The Celestial Dome is an important building in Waterfall City, housing the tablets upon which the Code of Dinotopia is inscribed.

The Dome and pyramid survived the earthquake quite well, but no one has yet been able to investigate the state of the Three-Dimensional Labyrinth within.

Guest Registry

A sober temple surrounded by the homes of puppeteers and toymakers, the Guest Registry is where all new dolphinbacks must register their name, country of origin, and skills.

The Guest Registry is still present with minor damage, but has been temporarily appropriated as a soup-kitchen and supply-dispersal area.

Haven of the Muses

Built upon a smaller island, the Haven of the Muses is connected to Waterfall City by the Bridge of the Winds, and is where visitors, students, and new dolphinbacks are housed. The Haven is a place of learning, and the staff here will do their very best to help all dolphinbacks learn about Dinotopian culture and adjust to their new life.

The Haven of the Muses is Waterfall City’s most devastating loss and accounts for the majority of the city’s death-toll. When the earthquake began, many of the Haven’s residents attempted to flee across the Bridge of the Winds to the main city in search of safety. Not all of them were able to cross. The island on which the Haven of the Muses stood broke apart and fell into the Polongo River, and there is now nothing left save jagged stone and broken foundation.

Visitors will notice an ever-present offering of bouquets, wreaths and candles along the promenade where the Bridge of the Winds joined with the main island. Someone is always in attendance to maintain the candles and ensure no one is alone in their mourning.

Library

The largest building in Waterfall City, the Library dwarfs all other structures. The building holds thousands of scrolls in honeycomb-shaped shelves—the preferred means of writing due to many saurians’ difficulty with turning pages. It also contains scroll-reading machines that help saurians in reading; closely resembling treadmills, the machines move the scroll along as the saurians walk.

One end of the Library also contains the sandpits in which saurian scribes write out messages in the sand using the unique, claw-shaped letters used by the common Dinotopian language.

The majority of the damage done to the Library involves the ceiling and scroll-cases, and the necessity of having to gather, catalogue and ensure the scrolls are undamaged by exposure to the weather.

One-Earth Dome

Situated on the very corner of the city, the One-Earth Dome depicts the planet’s continents as they were during the time of the dinosaurs. Inside the dome is the Helicoid Geochronograph—a water-powered spiral clock. The Helicoid Geochronograph combines the concepts of linear and circular time, following the Dinotopian philosophy that there are cycles in life and time always goes on.

While the One-Earth Dome was among the areas most damaged by the earthquake, such is the importance of the Geochronograph to the running of Dinotopia’s farming seasons that it has been among the first of those repaired. While the Dome itself is still under re-construction, the Geochronograph itself is now running once more. Only certain people are allowed inside the Dome due to its instability, but the workers hope to have the Dome repaired enough for re-opening within a month.

Image references: [1], [2]

Round-Table Hall

At the Round-Table Hall, the Elders of the City debate official business.

The Hall has been opened to the public as a means by which they can request specific aid or search for lost friends and family-members.

Shrine of Mystery

A shrine which is very mysterious.

The shrine has become an impromptu memorial to all those lost in the earthquake, both in Waterfall City and throughout Dinotopia. Like the Bridge of the Winds, it is constantly attended by those who care for the mourners, flowers and candles placed there by residents of the city.

Window of the Ever-Changing Vista

A popular destination for visitors to the city, the Window of the Ever-Changing Visa provides a grand view of the waterfalls below.

The Window of the Ever-Changing Vista is currently closed due to unsafe conditions.

Image references: [1]

locations: waterfall city