The Pau Sinkhole was a natural formation stretching beneath the surface of the planet Utapau. It housed the subterranean settlement of Pau City, home to a million inhabitants including Pau'ans and Utai.
Description
A cutaway of the sinkhole city.
The Pau Sinkhole was located along with most Utapauan settlements on the planet's lone continent, which resided as the most stable of the world's surface plates. Pau City was constructed as a vertical sanctuary within the sinkhole, largely in underground caves, with external access points and starship docking facilities situated on the inner cliff-face walls. The sinkhole sheltered the eleven-level city from the planet's strong surface winds, and subterranean passageways linked it to nearby secondary access sinkholes and settlements.[1]
Extending around the entire circumference of the Pau Sinkhole, the city maintained governmental, civic, and ceremonial buildings on the uppermost Civic Level, which was overseen by the Port Administration; the lowest Mining Level extended into the bone mines and deep caves at the bottom of the sinkhole, inhabited by resputi and other monsters.[1]
History
Utapau's complex tidal forces, a result of the remote planet's nine moons, caused massive currents in the world-ocean that lay beneath the underside of the planet's outer crust. In turn, these currents caused groundquakes that collapsed sections of the surface into subterranean sinkholes and stress-fracture chasms. The native Pau'ans and Utai built underground sanctuaries in many of the sinkholes on the single, most stable of Utapau's continents; the Pau Sinkhole was among these, and hosted the vertical settlement of Pau City. The inhabitants harvested minerals from the waters, grottoes, and pools of Coranth found in the lowest Mining Level.[1]
Appearances
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "A Death on Utapau"- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "In Search of the Crystal" (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "Crystal Crisis"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "The Big Bang" (In flashback(s))
- Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (First appearance)
- Force Collector (and audiobook)
Sources
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Commander Cody Highlights of the Saga: Intrigue on Utapau
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Commander Cody Weapons & Uniforms: The Utapauns
- Ultimate Star Wars
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: MagnaGuard Highlights of the Saga: Duel to the Death
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Utapau Clone Trooper Highlights of the Saga: Escape from Utapau
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Odd Ball Helmets: Odd Ball
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Odd Ball Weapons & Uniforms: Republic Pilots
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: First Order Snowtrooper Databank A-Z: Zeb Orrelios–Pau City
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: 4-LOM Databank A-Z: Unknown Regions–Utai (Picture only)
- Star Wars: Complete Locations (First identified as Pau Sinkhole)
- Star Wars Helmet Collection: Wedge Antilles Databank A-Z: Trident Assault Ship–Turbolasers