Pandora

Pandora is the planet on which Borderlands takes place. It is a barren, desolate world filled with dangerous creatures. Pandora's habitable regions appears to derive sunlight indirectly from the reflection of its moon. Pandora has a 90-hour day and takes ten Earth years to orbit its sun. Pandora was first settled by humans during its winter season, when much of its wildlife was hibernating. After seven earth years, however, its climate is heating up as the summer season draws near. This has resulted in the native wildlife waking from their hibernation, most of which are hostile to Pandora's new human visitors. 

Solar System

 * One day on Pandora takes 90 hours to complete. Patricia Tannis speaks of 'moon' cycles and 'dim cycles'.
 * Pandora's year equals 10 Earth years.
 * Pandora has one moon visible at all times.

Fauna

 * The fauna of Pandora is characterized by its aggressive in protecting its territory. Any intrusion near an animals home is met with an immediate attack. Pandora has many different creatures that are almost never friendly towards the Vault Hunters. The ones encountered include Skag, Larva Crab Worm, Scythid, Spiderant, Trash Feeder, Rakk and Rakk Hive. One common trait among the local fauna is that each species produces elemental variants. It is not known if Guardians are native or created by the Eridians.

Flora

 * There are a variety of plants on Pandora, although the local flora is sparse in many areas. The majority of the vegetation present is similar in appearance to flora found in the southwestern United States. One of the most common plants are items that resemble cactus throughout the desert-like environment.
 * Other types of flora encountered include:
 * Mushroom-like growths can be found in the Arid Badlands and many of the cave areas.
 * In the Rust Commons, there is some plant life, including moss-like plants on the ground and large, sunflower-style plants that grow with 3 heads. Lilly-pads appear in the large pools of water. Wild grasses, weeds and flowers can be seen to bloom in small patches throughout the zones.
 * Dead blackened trees can be found on various parts of the world. This may be partly because of the winter that has just passed. One is located in the town of New Haven.

Geography

 * Pandora is of snowy mountainous areas, large desert-like areas and coastal stretches. The terrain is crisscrossed with canyons, ravines, rocky outcrops and plateaus. Large bodies of water are also present bordering several of the zones. Due to the construction it is likely that Pandora in the winter is a much wetter environment and that several of the shallow waterways are much higher then.

Settlements

 * Many of the settlements seem to be made of scrap metal, showing the lack of resources available on Pandora. It should be noted, however, that in the Rust Commons, there are living plants, such as moss and large flowers.

Eridian Period

 * Little is known about what the Eridians have done to the planet, however by the presence of The Destroyer it can be inferred that it was used only as a base and prison for them.

Gold-Rush Era

 * Pandora was rich in raw minerals before the game takes place, and various companies had put up mining colonies around the planet. Also, the companies were researching the "vault", a legendary place full of Eridian alien technology and various other riches. Eventually, however, the companies stopped funding the mines. The planet had nothing else that could make a substantial profit so massive flocks of people were leaving. Whoever could not find a way off the planet, or those who believed in "the vault" stayed. People, hearing about the Eridian Vault, flocked to Pandora in hopes of riches and power. What they found, however, was a dusty ball with nothing more than scattered holes dug by animals. People who could afford to left, while the remaining either made scattered settlements, became roving raiders and bandits, or went completely insane. It should be noted this occurred during the Pandoran winter.


 * The Dahl Corporation had previously established, purchased, or inherited mining colonies on Pandora utilizing unpaid convict labor. Presumably Dahl's operations on Pandora were based out of what is now Old Haven. Dahl sent a team of scientists, including Patricia Tannis to investigate the possibility of Eridian artifacts on Pandora.

Post-Hibernation

 * When the habitable area of Pandora where Borderlands takes place eased into the summer period of its cycle, many animals came out of hibernation, making those lands all the more dangerous. Residents of Pandora greatly dislike these animals; they are dangerous, eat people, and destroy equipment. After the hibernation, presumably the cost of maintaining their mining operations in the face of the awakening native life forced Dahl to abandon the planet entirely, evacuating administrative staff and science teams. This left behind thousands of convicted criminals to fend for themselves, causing Old Haven to fall into bandit hands. Some did remain behind, such as Administrator Helena Pierce, Patricia Tannis, Dr. Zed, and others. New Haven was established in the junkyard behind the Dahl Headlands and Rust Commons West.

The Present

 * Sometime after the beginning of summer, and the Pandorans had overcome the initial trouble's of the local fauna, rumors began to abound again of a Vault full of alien technology. This brought a small influx of adventurers, treasure hunters, and the like. This is the present period, and is the period during which the game takes place.

Post-Vault Era

 * After the discovery of the Vault, it is unknown what will befall our heroes. This is the time period after Borderlands' main questline is ended.

Regions

 * Arid Badlands, The
 * Dahl Headlands, The
 * Rust Commons West, The
 * Rust Commons East, The
 * Salt Flats, The
 * Jakobs Cove
 * Underdome, The

Settlements

 * Fyrestone
 * New Haven
 * Old Haven
 * Sanctuary (This is never seen in game but is mentioned as being under attack and a war zone by Helena Pierce, before the Echo network is offline.)

Areas Available Via Fast Travel System

 * Arid Hills, The
 * Backdoor, The
 * Cauldron, The
 * Cesspool, The
 * Crazy Earl's Scrapyard
 * Crimson Fastness
 * Crimson Enclave
 * Descent, The
 * Devil's Footstool, The
 * Eridian Promontory
 * Fyrestone
 * Fyrestone Coliseum
 * Headstone Mine
 * Jakobs Cove
 * Krom's Canyon
 * Lost Cave, The
 * Lucky's Last Chance Watering Hole
 * Middle of Nowhere
 * New Haven
 * Old Haven
 * Outeryard, The
 * Salt Flats, The
 * Skag Gully
 * Sledge's Safe House
 * Tetanus Warrens
 * Titan's End
 * Trash Coast
 * Treacher's Landing
 * Underpass, The
 * Vault, The

Trivia

 * In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. Prometheus stole fire from Mount Olympius and gave it to man, Zeus punished Prometheus by creating Pandora. For fear of additional reprisals, Prometheus warned his brother Epimetheus not to accept any gifts from Zeus, but Epimetheus did not listen, and married Pandora. Pandora had been given a large jar and instruction by Zeus to keep it closed, but she had also been given the gift of curiosity, and ultimately opened it. When she opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, but it is said, that at the very bottom of her jar, there lay hope....
 * Pandora is one of many Greek Mythology references in the game along with Atlas, Hyperion and Sirens.