After finding this site, I couldn't resist!
A major river, cutting through the mountains, from east to west, with a brook feeding it from the top of the cliffs to the south.
My plan: To dam the river, by extracting magma from the HFS far below, and casting a huge obsidian block, then carving it out, and smothing/engraving it. it'll have a glass floor that runs the length of the dam, which will also act as a bridge, and the fortress will fill the interior of the dam. Just below the glass floor will be my legendary dining room, and hydroponics, for which the glass will also act as a roof. Everything else will be built below that level, and in the cliffs to either side, and in the stone foundation. It'll have power generators that will provide energy for the fort, and large floodgates to control the flow of water to the lowlands. I'm also going to wall up the z-levels above the river, where it enters the map, from the east, and use the brook to fill the area, creating a reservoir.
Here you can see a very basic sketch-up of my idea, and my temporary barracks. The river is more than 9 z-levels below this point.
Here is the brook (currently frozen) that will eventually be used to fill the reservoir, and will be used as the water source for casting the obsidian.
Finally, the source of the river.
A few questions though..
Q: Is there an easier way to move magma vertically besides pump stacks?
Q: Can I fill the entire casting with magma, then just add water for the desired effect, or do I need to do it one level at a time?
If anyone has any suggestions/advice for this project, or has done something like this before, let me know.
