The Geography of Arda and Middle-earth

The Years of the Lamps and the Years of the Trees


Source: Wikipedia


Andrey Maximov: Illuin and Ormal — Ted Nasmith: Illuin


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The Spring of Arda — from Almaren and the Great Lake in the Time of the Lamps to Middle-earth and Valinor in the Years of the Trees.


Aman and Valinor
Left:source Wikipedia — right: map by Karen Wynn Fonstad (excerpt)


Valinor with the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin
(Art by MrSvein872)


Ted Nasmith: Tirion

 


The First Age


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Eä (the universe created by Eru Ilúvatar) and Arda after the Battle of the Powers


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Arda with Aman and Middle-earth


Stefan Meisl: Helcaraxë


The topography of Beleriand and the Northern Lands
(Art by John Howe)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Beleriand and the Northern Lands


The Realms of the Ñoldor and the Sindar and their rulers
(map by Sirielle)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Menegroth, seat of the rulers of Doriath


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Nargothrond


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Gondolin


Alan Lee: Gondolin


Middle-earth before and after the War of Wrath
(Source)

 


The Second Age


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Arda with Valinor, Númenor and Middle-earth


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Númenor

 


Númenor: White ships from Valinor near Andúnië (art by Ted Nasmith)
— Rómenna (art by MatejCadil) — Armenelos the Golden (art by Ralph Damiani)

 


The Third Age


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Circles of the World before and after the change from flat to round Earth


Source: Wikipedia


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Middle-earth in the early Third Age


The topography of Middle-earth
(Source)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The Realms in Exile


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Kingdoms of the Dúnedain


The partition of Arnor
(Source)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The plague in Middle-earth


Gondor at the height of its powers (at the beginning of the second millennium of the Third Age)
Source: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gondor


Gondor in the year of the War of the Ring
Source: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gondor


Middle-earth in the time of the War of the Rings
Upper map by Pauline Baynes (1970); source of lower map here


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The Shire, the Old Forest, Bree, and Weathertop


The Setting of The Hobbit
(Source)


The Shire
(Source)


Hobbiton
(Source)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Bag End and Hobbiton (before and after the War of the Ring)


Hobbiton (Bagshot Row and Bag End) as shown in the movies


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The Barrow Downs and Tom Bombadil’s Home (left) / Bree (right)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Rivendell


Alan Lee: Rivendell


J.R.R. Tolkien: Map of Wilderland
Source: https://www.theonering.com/map-of-the-wilderland-j-r-r-tolkien


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Goblin Town and Gollum’s Lake in the Misty Mountains (left)
and the Lonely Mountain (right)


Christopher Tolkien (1954): Thrór’s Map of the Lonely Mountain
(N.B.: While most of the maps shown on this page give the four directions — North, South, West, and East — the way “our” maps do, this Dwarven map places “East” at the top.  Thus, to reflect “our” perspective, this map must be imagined as turned clockwise by a 90° angle.)
(Source)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: The Misty Mountains


The hidden gate of Moria: “Speak (say) friend, and enter!”
(Left image: source)

 
Karen Wynn Fonstad: Moria (left) & Caras Galadon / Lothlórien (right)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Gondor, Rohan and Isengard


Isengard and Orthanc as shown in the movies


Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld as shown in the movies


Helm’s Deep and the Hornburg as shown in the movies


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Edoras and Dunharrow (left) / Helm’s Deep (right)


Argonath (as shown in the movies): Two immense statues of Isildur and his younger brother Anárion, the first two kings of Gondor, marking the northern boundary of Gondor at the entrance of Nen Hithoel on Anduin, the Great River of Middle-earth’s Second and Third Ages.


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Parth Galen, Amon Hen, Tol Brandir and Rauros at the southern end of Nen Hithoel


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Minas Tirith (left) and Henneth Annûn (right)


Minas Tirith as shown in the movies


Pelargir: Gondor’s principal sea port near the Mouths of the Anduin
(Sources here and here)


Umbar ca. TA 1650
(Source)


Near Harad as depicted in as depicted in the Middle-earth Role Playing game
(Source)


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Mordor


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Mount Doom

 


The Fourth Age


Karen Wynn Fonstad: Middle-earth in the Fourth Age


Alan Lee: The Grey Havens


Source: Wikimedia

 

From Middle-earth to Our World 


Sources: here and here
(Note: Tolkien said that the Shire was to be found in the area of today’s Oxfordshire.)

 

________________________________________

Note: Images not specifically attributed or sourced otherwise on this and the associated sub-pages of this blog’s Middle-earth Project originate from the three-part movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King; Peter Jackson / New Line Cinema, 2001-2003) and the three-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit (An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug, and The Battle of the Five Armies; Peter Jackson / New Line Cinema / Warner Bros. Pictures / MGM, 2012-2014).  Please see the blog’s Copyright and Privacy Policy page with reference to the use of third-party images under the doctrines of fair use and fair dealing.

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