Karain semi-continent

The Karain semi-continent is a fictional landmass of almost-continental size, featured in the novel Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright, as well as several of his other writings, such as "The Story of Alwina."Mark Saxton, Wright's editor, also wrote three sequel novels set in Islandia. Wright started inventing the geography as a young boy and continued the hobby into adulthood.

"Islandia" is a fictional country at the extreme southern end of Karain. Neither the specific dimensions of the Karain semi-continent, nor Islandia, are ever specifically stated in the book, however a number of things are implied. Judging from the author's own maps published in some versions of the novel, and the travel times the protagonist takes getting from one point to another, Islandia appears to be roughly the same size as the American region of New England, and has a generally similar climate. Using the same maps for reference, that would make the semi-continent appear to be about half the size of Australia, or about 1.5 million square miles (3.9 km2) in area.

The exact location of the semi-continent is a matter of some debate. In the novel, the author never specifically states its exact location; however in personal correspondence and in his unpublished notes, he states quite clearly that it is in the South Atlantic ocean (i.e., "... not on the Spanish side of the Pope's line ...,") in between South America, Africa, and Antarctica, somewhat closer to Africa and Antarctica than to South America.

However, readers such as Elmer Davis have concluded that it lies in the South Pacific, somewhere between New Zealand and South America. Indeed, Mark Saxton, who edited the manuscript for Islandia, pointedly ignored the author's own notes on the location of the fictional land, and wrote three sequels setting it in the South Pacific. When asked about this, he repeated geographer John K. Wright's opinion that the Atlantic was already too crowded. Isabel Huggan placed it in the Indian Ocean.

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