What feature could divide the world in two halves and what would be the climate implications?

I'm building a world that has a feature that is meant to separate the world in half so civilizations on each half won't contact one another. The feature is magical in origin, but does not seem magical at first glance and the barrier is itself something physical not magical. I want to make it as realistic as possible.

Over the continents the feature could take the form of a high mountain range surrounded by harsh desert but I am open to other ideas. I am not sure what the feature could be over the sea, perhaps a permanent storm?

So the question is twofold:

• What type of feature would keep a civilization with 18th century technology (advanced age of sail but pre-industrial) to be unable to cross it?

• What effects would such a feature have on the climate? Keep in mind that the feature splits the otherwise Earth-like world in two so it will be on the scale of the whole planet.

posted about 5 years ago

Daniel Gomez‭

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