Some environmental info

The surface of the planet Quarace gives its inhabitants an entirely new experience from Earth itself- as soon as the first explorers set foot on the planet, it was known that any events which would take place on this planet would be extraordinary.
The first-noticed feature of the planet's surface are the sheer shapes never found on earth. In large swaths across the planet lie great fields of sinkholes and cliffs. These "mountain ranges" resemble something carved from a very porous block of swiss cheese. The "holes" in the rock create vast, complex cliffs, valleys, shelves and caves reaching for hundreds of kilometers wide and, sometimes, many kilometers tall. The size of these features is varied- some are no larger than a man's thumb, while the Niskali Basin spans three hundred kilometers wide.
What causes these features in the landscape is unknown. There are definite patterns among the different "swiss chese" formations when compared to other mountain ranges on Quarace, notably that each of these formations has a narrow and a wide end, and are always fairly narrow, running roughly west by northwest or east by southeast, and most are located on the western side of the great continent and its archipelago to the north- actually, the islands in the archipelago are the tips of an underwater formation. At the narrow end, feature size is relatively low and very frequent- at the wider end, features increase in size, progressively swallowing the largest feature before them. While scientists speculate on the factors leading to the creation of these formations, almost all agree that they formed very quickly, by a sudden and catastrophic event. While this is not uncommon for any planet- records show many catastrophic phenomena changing Earth's landscape such as the Giant Impact which formed the moon and K-T Extinction event- the enigmatic nature of this question leads many to believe that it will happen again, and that humans may not even have advance warning.
Despite the dangers associated with them, the Giant Porous Formations (GPFs) have been of great interest to human beings. Throughout their expanse, GPFs show an extraordinary incidence of "Tensorite," a type of natural steel of unprecedented purity and strength. Outside of the GPFs, Cobalt ore is found in abundance. The supply of high-quality metals on Quarace was not only one of the reasons the planet became so attractive to prospectors, but also critical to the AQR's war machine during the Great War for Peace.
The presence of Tensorite is primary evidence for the argument that GPFs were formed catastrophically- since steel does not usually occur naturally and a great deal of energy is required to mix iron and carbon, the two must have been brought together, scientists say, by a sudden event generating a great deal of heat. However, no further evidence has been found regarding the formation of the GPFs.
Tensorite also contributes greatly to the bewildering experiences of life on Quarace. Supported by natural steel, rock formations of seemingly impossible shape appear. Rock ledges and shelves several kilometers long, even several kilometers high, stud the mountain landscape. Some ledges are even strong and wide enough that cities are built on them without any fear of collapse, although some rock shelves HAVE collapsed, taking some earlier settlements and even medium-sized towns with them. Mountains can be found on Quarace too tall for atmospheric craft to overcome. Since the landscape is so three-dimensional in places, life has evolved as such. Quarace is home to mile-high trees which grow from the deepest GPF sinkholes to reach sunlight, their death returning the entirety of their mass to the almost sunless bottom and nourishing life there. In the most dense forests, all life exists three-dimensionally, forming almost separate ecosystems between the ground, canopy, and middle. Due to the abundance of these tall forests and three-dimensional landscape, avian species have proliferated among Quarace's animal kingdom, with Jastins as the most dominant species of all.
The heavy concentration of metals on Quarace has also contributed to the forms of life on the surface. Evolving in the constant presence of metal, life has developed abilities to incorporate Tensorite into its own structure. The presence of Tensorite in plants' cell walls allows them to grow as tall as they are. The great roaming beasts of Quarace maintain skeletal integrity through a lattice of Tensorite in their bones, the same process allowing for the evolution of larger-scale invertibrates. Most carnivorous species have incorporated a higher Tensorite density in exposed bones- i.e. teeth and claws, for hunting purposes. This includes carnivorous avians, but to a lesser degree, as Tensorite increases bone and body weight.
Tensorite poses a problem for human beings. Since humans have evolved in a far less metallic environment, their bodies do not react well to the high amounts of Tensorite, iron, and cobalt commonly found in fresh water on Quarace. While able to endure for short periods of time, humans do not survive for long when left in the open. Filtration of metals from water, most easily accomplished using powerful electromagnets, is paramount to human survival. The concentration of iron in vegetables or other foods native to Quarace is of little concern to human beings, since smaller plants have little use for metals in their cellular structure as larger plants do. However, the importance of water filtration to human survival makes it of great interest to the AQR. Electromagnetic filters fall under the AQR's list of monopolized industries, therefore closely affiliating any public water systems with AQR bureaucracy. Use of homemade filtration, such as a powerful electromagnet held near a container of water for an extended period of time, is strictly forbidden. Due to the inefficiency of these devices, and the risk of discovery by the authorities, most Quaran citizens buy small filters from AQR distribution when traveling where public water is unavailable.