I agree with parts of the theory, but you can make an equally valid argument that Randland is set in western America.
The Black Hills -> Black Hills of South Dakota
The Thousand Lakes of Malkier -> The Ten Thousand Lakes of Minnesota
The River Erinin -> Mississippi River
The River Luan -> Missouri River
The Sand Hills ~~ Any one of the sand dunes in Colorado or Utah (Harder case to make because Jordan writes that the Sand Hills were once the coast of a 'Great Ocean' before the Breaking. However, the Randland = Eurasia theory would have the Sand Hills flat at the bottom of the Mediterranean...)
Other Evidence -
One of the largest and most well-known Bouguer (gravitational) anomalies lies in the providence of Manitoba, due north of Lake Winnipeg. It was discovered during a mapping of the Hudson Bay in the 60's, and press reports still tend to place it 'within the vicinity of Hudson Bay.' It is easy to imagine that Rigney knew about this and used it as a back story for Shayol Ghul.
Tuan's ship during the Corenne, the Kidron, was followed by an Albatross, a type of bird that, north of the equator, is known to only live in the Pacific.
S'redit (Elephants) are transported by the Seanchan to Randland. Under the Randland to Eurasia theory, this would mean that elephants are being transported from what would be the mid-west United States, which seems improbable even with the large time discrepancy.
Thom mentions meeting a Domani merchant who had purchased a red bird with a yellow beak that was said to be 'able to tell the future' from the Sea Folk. When I read this, I thought that the description matched a Macaw parrot, which is native to the Americas.
Grendal's Sharan Sh'boan and Sh'botay are described as being 'very dark-skinned.' This could contrast against Rigney's descriptions of the Sea Folk, who are only described as having 'dark-skin.' Rigney also writes that the Sea Folk have long straight black hair, which better matches with the drowned lands being Central/South America instead of Africa.
Shara is the big unknown. We know that Shara produces silk and ivory, and the panel in the White Tower with the Giraffes was said to have come from the lands beyond the Waste. Shara being Africa doesn't mesh with either theory. In Randland = Eurasia, Africa would be the drowned lands that were destroyed in the breaking, and the Sea Folk would be the survivors of the people living in Africa at that time. Likewise, Randland + Shara is too big to be North America alone.
The best explanation is that Africa drifted into North America during the breaking, creating the Great Rift and the Cliffs of Dawn in the process. This would explain all of the discrepancies above while still allowing for the geographic similarities discussed at the beginning of this post. Likewise, we know that this is entirely possible in the world of WOT because the Land of Madmen, regardless of whether it Africa, Australia, or Europe, would have had to have drifted thousands of miles to get to where it is on the map. Not that the 'Lands of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time' is canonical by any means, but even Rigney would have had to have approved the creation of an entire continent before letting something like that go to print.
The WOT World compared to the world of the First Age (our world)
in Wheel of Time Books
Posted
I agree with parts of the theory, but you can make an equally valid argument that Randland is set in western America.
The Black Hills -> Black Hills of South Dakota
The Thousand Lakes of Malkier -> The Ten Thousand Lakes of Minnesota
The River Erinin -> Mississippi River
The River Luan -> Missouri River
The Sand Hills ~~ Any one of the sand dunes in Colorado or Utah (Harder case to make because Jordan writes that the Sand Hills were once the coast of a 'Great Ocean' before the Breaking. However, the Randland = Eurasia theory would have the Sand Hills flat at the bottom of the Mediterranean...)
Other Evidence -
One of the largest and most well-known Bouguer (gravitational) anomalies lies in the providence of Manitoba, due north of Lake Winnipeg. It was discovered during a mapping of the Hudson Bay in the 60's, and press reports still tend to place it 'within the vicinity of Hudson Bay.' It is easy to imagine that Rigney knew about this and used it as a back story for Shayol Ghul.
Tuan's ship during the Corenne, the Kidron, was followed by an Albatross, a type of bird that, north of the equator, is known to only live in the Pacific.
S'redit (Elephants) are transported by the Seanchan to Randland. Under the Randland to Eurasia theory, this would mean that elephants are being transported from what would be the mid-west United States, which seems improbable even with the large time discrepancy.
Thom mentions meeting a Domani merchant who had purchased a red bird with a yellow beak that was said to be 'able to tell the future' from the Sea Folk. When I read this, I thought that the description matched a Macaw parrot, which is native to the Americas.
Grendal's Sharan Sh'boan and Sh'botay are described as being 'very dark-skinned.' This could contrast against Rigney's descriptions of the Sea Folk, who are only described as having 'dark-skin.' Rigney also writes that the Sea Folk have long straight black hair, which better matches with the drowned lands being Central/South America instead of Africa.
Shara is the big unknown. We know that Shara produces silk and ivory, and the panel in the White Tower with the Giraffes was said to have come from the lands beyond the Waste. Shara being Africa doesn't mesh with either theory. In Randland = Eurasia, Africa would be the drowned lands that were destroyed in the breaking, and the Sea Folk would be the survivors of the people living in Africa at that time. Likewise, Randland + Shara is too big to be North America alone.
The best explanation is that Africa drifted into North America during the breaking, creating the Great Rift and the Cliffs of Dawn in the process. This would explain all of the discrepancies above while still allowing for the geographic similarities discussed at the beginning of this post. Likewise, we know that this is entirely possible in the world of WOT because the Land of Madmen, regardless of whether it Africa, Australia, or Europe, would have had to have drifted thousands of miles to get to where it is on the map. Not that the 'Lands of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time' is canonical by any means, but even Rigney would have had to have approved the creation of an entire continent before letting something like that go to print.