Ankh-Morpork

Ankh-Morpork is the mercantile capital of the Discworld, even when it is under attack from a dragon the vegetable carts still have to come in.

Ankh-Morpork lies on the River Ankh (the most polluted waterway on the Discworld), where the fertile loam of the Sto Plains meets the Circle Sea, which naturally puts it in an excellent trading position. Lying about equidistant from the cold Hub and tropical Rim, Ankh-Morpork is in the Discworld's temperate zone.

The name "Ankh-Morpork" refers to both the city itself, a walled city about a mile (1.6 km) across, and the surrounding suburbs and farms of its fiefdom.

The central city divides more or less into Ankh (the posh part) and Morpork (the humble part, which includes the slum area known as "the Shades"), which are separated by the River Ankh.

Ankh-Morpork is built on black loam, broadly, but mostly what it is built on is more Ankh-Morpork. Because of the nature of the Ankh-Morpork citizenry and the flooding of the River Ankh, they figured it was simply easier to build on top of the existing buildings when the sediment grew too high, rather than excavate them out. This has resulted in two things: Firstly, many people own basements and have no idea they do. Secondly, there is a "cave network" below Ankh-Morpork made up of old streets and abandoned sewers - these "unknown basements" allow people to get around relatively unimpeded.

The River Ankh

Even before it enters Ankh-Morpork, the River Ankh is full of silt from the plains; by the time it gets to the seaward side of the city, "even an agnostic could walk across it".

The citizens of the city are strangely proud of this fact, even going so far as to say that "it is easier to suffocate than drown in the Ankh". They also claim it to be the purest water on the Disc, as "Anything that's passed through so many kidneys has to be very pure indeed". Owing to the build-up of centuries, the bed of the river is higher than some parts of the city. When winter snows swell the flow, the low-rent areas of Morpork flood. In spring some parts catch fire, and others sprout small trees.

In the times when the city catches fire, the river gates are closed, and the river rises and smothers the flames.