Under the Icy Shell

Azu’s surface is mostly submerged in shallow freshwater, with some mountains tall enough to break the surface. The average depth of the seas is only about 200 meters, though the planet is cold enough that the water is perpetually frozen several meters deep. Hydrothermal vents on the bottom of deep trenches, perhaps 2-3 miles deeper than the seafloor, warm the water in the trenches, and rising hot water keeps the water liquid at the bottom of the shallow seas. As such there are five distinct layers to Azular seas; the ice zone, the slush zone, the cold water zone, the warm water zone, and the hot water zone. The planet is much larger than Sol III, with gravity of about 4 g. This heightened gravity means the species itself is stronger than humans.