Pandora

Pandora is the planet on which the story of 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 (one winter is seven earth years and a summer is three earth years). Pandora was first settled by humans during a winter season, when much of its wildlife was hibernating. After seven earth years, the warming climate in that region has resulted in most of the known native wildlife (excluding rakk hives and some other unknown or undiscovered species) waking from their hibernation, all of which are hostile to Pandora's new human settlers.

Fauna
The major forms of fauna on Pandora aggressively protect their territory; an approach is usually met with immediate attack. Pandora has many different creatures that are seldom friendly towards the Vault Hunters. These include Skags, Larva Crab Worms, Scythid, Spiderants, Drifters, Rakk and Rakk Hives, which are generally only aggressive when provoked as they eat plants.

There are many undiscovered species on Pandora as well. Patricia Tannis also mentions there are many species of bugs. Some of these bugs are the glowing green flies seen when approaching a skag pile or toilets.

In the Parched Fathoms one can see large structures resembling barnacles. This may indicate that some kind of nautical fauna existed on Pandora, despite drastic climate changes, or these creatures are hiberating during Pandora's summer.

An intelligent species encountered on Pandora are the Guardians, however it is revealed they are AI, controlled husks or models of Eridians. No actual Eridians are encountered, and these Guardians are believed to be protectors from the extinct Eridian civilization..

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 south-western United States. One of the most common plants or plant-analogues resembles cacti called cesium cactus with orange glowing 'eyes' found throughout the desert-like environment of the Arid Badlands and beyond. This particular plant is possibly the "cesium cactus" referenced in the mission briefing for Big Game Hunter.

Other types of flora encountered include:


 * Mushroom-like growths can be found in the Arid Badlands and many of the cave areas (probably used as food for local animals and human settlers).
 * 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 and they haven't awoken yet. One is located in the town of New Haven.
 * Bladeflower Plants can be found in Skag Gully and elsewhere. T.K. Baha asks the Vault hunters to collect the seeds from them they are the main cash crop of pandora and are edible.

Geography
The areas of Pandora encountered in the story consist of snowy or volcanic-ash-strewn mountainous areas, large desert valleys 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 repeated presence of raised construction it is likely that in the winter many of these areas are much wetter environments during different times of the Pandoran year.

Settlements
One can roughly divide human settlements on Pandora into three different groups.

The first is military encampments, established during first or second Crimson Lance occupation. These are huge, well fortified structures and bunkers, made of steel & concrete. In-game examples include Crimson Enclave (designed to control the heart of ECHOnet) and Fort Knoxx.

The non-hostile civilian establishments constitute the second group. Due to general lack of resources, the inhabitants laid their hands on the only material they had in abundance: scrap metal and garbage (however, occasionally there are more well-made structures made from wood or bricks, like Helena Pierce's office). Although not exactly solid or cozy, these buildings offer some proper conditions and facilities (like power, canalization), making them a good place to rest or make business. Without proper organization, many of these settlements were constructed virtually ad hoc, turning towns into densely populated mazes of blocks, stair flights, alleys, backyards, etc. When the fauna of Pandora turned hostile and the crime-levels soared, it became necessary for every town to hastily assemble rudimentary fortifications.

The third and the last group is loosely made of bandit camps of various kinds. These gangs reside in various places, occupying defunct industrial installations, inhabiting natural dwellings, or simply stacking up near the roads and towns, hoping for easy prey and loot. The buildings are the most simple ones: predominantly ordinary huts and shacks, offering nothing more than primitive shelter. Only the most notorious leaders and biggest groups managed to reach some kind of organization; some of these bases even achieved their own names, like Thor Digtown, Lockdown Palace or Midgetville.

Eridian Period
Centuries, or perhaps even millennia before the events of Borderlands, the Eridian civilization came to dominate Pandora. Little is known about what the Eridians have done on the planet, however by the presence of The Destroyer, and the Guardians it can be inferred that it was used as a remote prison location.

The Atlas Colonization
The Atlas corporation arrived at least 70 years before the events of Borderlands, and evidently did so during one of the long Pandoran 'winters'. The company set up facilities in the search for the alien technology that was believed to be hidden on the planet. Outposts were established during this frenzy of activity, and new colonists began to settle in and around these make-shift archaeological digs.

Little or nothing was found, however word spread about the anticipated cache of technology the locals began to dub The Vault. Rumors soon circulated, triggering a second wave of fortune hunters to touch down on the marginally developed planet. Many of these people were heavily armed, highly driven, competitive, and had no affiliation with Atlas.

The Commerce Grid was most likely established as these freelancers started trading amongst themselves and Atlas employees. The Fast Travel Network was also likely established during this period to help facilitate the easy transmission of goods and services.

The First Summer
Pandora, despite the massive influx of people, was still largely unexplored when climatic conditions changed for the warmer. With the rising temperatures, the previously hibernating Pandoran fauna and dormant flora began to stir, presenting a new threat to the colonists. Within weeks many or all of the population was forced to either retreat, defend themselves, or die.

The previously dilapidated communities began to fortify when the Crimson Lance arrived. The Lance were probably not gentle with the population, but their firepower and training were helpful in protecting the civilians against the more dangerous predators. Sanctuary, the largest human settlement, was fortified and put under martial law.

Faced with an increasingly hostile assortment of plant and animal life coupled with the increasing lawlessness and desperation of the population, Atlas began withdrawing from Pandora.

The Dahl Arrival
Decades before the events of Borderlands, the Dahl corporation arrived upon Pandora. The Crimson Lance, and by extension Atlas, were still running Sanctuary at that time, so it is likely that Dahl entered under the pretext of mining Pandora's abundant mineral wealth. This was a boon to the local populace as it meant a sudden, prolonged influx of supplies, products, and materials for expansion. With the material came a new wave of trained, educated specialists, managers and planners. A new city, dubbed "Haven", was founded close to the Headstone irridium mines, well away from Atlas interference. Covert archaeological activities were the real reason why Dahl is on Pandora. They were looking for The Vault.

New outposts were founded around mining resources. Prefabricated refineries and other large industrial facilities were quickly erected and put into operation to process the ore. In addition to the vast quantities of industrial might, slave labor was imported to Pandora in the form of off-world convicts.

The Dahl Withdrawal
A little over two years before the events of Borderlands, Patricia Tannis took her first steps onto Pandora. In the previous decades, Dahl investment on the planet has reached its peak, with the only real regular contribution being a steady trickle of off-world convicts, and a few essential goods. A kind of economic homeostasis has been reached; life was about as good on Pandora as it had ever been. Which isn't saying much.

The ECHOnet was established, or at least perfected with technical expertise from Tannis. The first key fragment to the Vault was discovered in or around Headstone Mine. Atlas somehow received word of the discovery, and deployed a Crimson Lance to Pandora, the 3rd Starborne Brigade out of D Company.

The Dahl withdrawal in the face of the impending Crimson Lance invasion was messy, leaving behind hundreds, if not thousands, of employees and their families behind. Little effort was made to take the heavy, expensive mining machinery off-world, apparently having been deemed too unimportant to risk more casualties or delays in extraction efforts. Patricia Tannis was directed to abandon her work, although ultimately her research into the Vault gave her incentive enough to refuse her orders and she remained behind.

The offworld convicts were also left behind. They broke out from their various labor camps, using the materials and weapons of their former guards and eventually codified into feudal and tribal arrangements. A number of bandit lords rose to prominence among their number, each controlling various regions, some arranged in loose hierarchies with lesser leaders showing allegiance to the more powerful gangs. Haven was overrun by the bandits, prompting the residents to establish a new town further to the west, finding building materials easy to come by within a massive dump - New Haven.

The bandit lord Sledge, in possession of a Vault key fragment, rallied other unnamed bandit tribes under his banner. Through force of arms and ruthlessness, he terrorized the areas surrounding Headstone Mine in the effort to find more key fragments. Another key fragment initially found by Tannis fell into the hands of Krom, a rival bandit lord. Tannis, with her own agenda to open the Vault, sent an off-world communique hoping to attract treasure hunters to Pandora. Her transmissions were intercepted by the Crimson Lance force led by Commandant Steele, who herself coveted the key to the Vault and began to hatch a plan to seize it for herself.

Regions

 * Arid Badlands
 * Dahl Headlands
 * Rust Commons West
 * Rust Commons East
 * Salt Flats
 * Jakobs Cove
 * Underdome
 * Parched Fathoms

Major Settlements

 * Fyrestone
 * Jaynistown
 * New Haven
 * Old Haven
 * Sanctuary
 * Jakobs Cove
 * T-Bone Junction
 * Tartarus Station

Some of the settlements under civilian control serve as bases of operations for player activity. These locations are generally stocked with many amenities from transportation systems to supplies, and also provide starting points for most of the missions available throughout the story.

Notes and Speculation

 * There is no visible sun from Pandora's surface. It is possible that Pandora is tidally locked and that one side faces the sun the entire year, becoming an inhospitable wasteland with extremely high temperatures. This could also explain the relative dryness on the other side of the planet. The part in which the game takes place is facing away from Pandora's sun, but receives sunlight reflected from its moon. The day/night cycle may be caused by another, swifter orbiting planet passing between Pandora's sun and Pandora, or, more likely, the orbit of Pandora's moon.
 * If the Headstone Mine area is any indication, then Pandora is an extremely mineral-rich world. Iridium, being the second densest element upon the periodic table would naturally sink into the core of the world during its early 'hot period' and become inaccessible to mining in large quantities (like it is on Earth). However, given that Tannis described Dahl's mining works as a "lucrative" venture we can surmise that large quantities of the metal are found in the crust of the planet. There are two explanations for this: abundance, or an extremely short geologically active period in the planet's history. Since volcanoes and caldera are seen to be active, the later hypothesis seems unlikely and that metals of various types are, indeed, common upon Pandora. Most notably, the metals in and around the platinum series (assuming this is true, Pandora would have to be a very small planet, even if were Earth-sized the density of the materials would exhibit a huge gravitational force). This would influence native fauna and its evolutionary cycles. As Iridium is not terribly toxic yet bindable, it could stand to reason that this dense, durable metal is actually metabolised by the native life. And this quirk of biochemistry would explain why certain creatures are so heavily armored against supersonic projectiles, and why they seem to have trouble digesting/absorbing human bones made out of calcium and phosphorous, two much more chemically bindable substances.

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 (Pandora's Box) 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.
 * "Pandora" and "Prometheus" are two of Saturn's inner moons.