guides to fictional locations. According to Kevin J. Anderson's The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (1995) and Wallace, Kolins and McKinney's Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons (1998), Alderaan is covered by wild grasslands, plains, forests and mountain ranges. The planet has no ocean, but has a semi-frozen polar sea, and thousands of lakes and rivers. It is rich in biodiversity, populated by a wide variety of flora and fauna, such as the nerf and the thranta. Human life on the planet is evidenced by a number of cities, built to harmonize with the natural environment such as on canyon walls, on stilts along the shoreline or under the polar ice. The capital city, Aldera, has been built on a small island in the center of a caldera. The Alderaanian people value arts and education highly, and place high importance on their participation in the Galactic (later Imperial) Senate and the promotion of peace through demilitarization. The largely democratic society is formed as hereditary constitutional monarchy, ruled by the King or Queen of Alderaan from the Royal House of Antilles and later, due to marriage, the House of Organa. The planetary government is the High Council of Alderaan, presided over by a First Chairman and Viceroy. Cultural analysis The destruction of Alderaan is considered by some as an artistic depiction of the danger of nuclear weapons during the Cold War and some claim it is used as a example of inadequate political and military action leading to negative effects. See also List of Star Wars planets and moons Star Wars: The Han Solo Trilogy, Volume 3 – Rebel Dawn Star Wars: X-Wing, Book 4 – The Bacta War References Footnotes Citations Sources Further reading Star Wars: Roleplaying Game – Coruscant and the Core Worlds, hardcover 2003, by Craig R. Carey, Chris Doyle, Jason Fry, Paul Sudlow, John Terra, Daniel Wallace, External links Star Wars planets Fictional destroyed planets Fictional terrestrial planets Fictional elements introduced in 1977 de:Orte aus Star Wars#Alderaan