Tolkien Gateway

Misty Mountains

'"How came you by it?" — Thorin
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Misty Mountains looking West from the Eyrie towards Goblin Gate.jpg
Misty Mountains
Physical Description
TypeMountain Range
LocationBetween Eriador and Wilderland, and Rohan's northern border
RealmsKhazad-dûm, numerous Orc-realms
InhabitantsDwarves of Durin's folk, Orcs, Trolls, Giants, Men, Elves, Ents, Eagles
DescriptionThe largest mountain range in Middle-earth
General Information
Other namesHithaeglir, Mountains of Mist
EventsThe Great Journey of the Elves, awakening of Durin I, awakening of the Balrog, dominion of the Orcs, War of the Dwarves and Orcs

The Misty Mountains or Mountains of Mist (Hithaeglir in Sindarin[note 1] as a plural) was a great mountain range that lay between Eriador in the west and the Great River Anduin in the east. They ran 795 miles (1,280 kilometers) from Mount Gundabad in the far north to Methedras in the south.[note 2]


[edit] Geographic Features

The most important peaks were Mount Gundabad, Redhorn, Silvertine, Cloudyhead, and Methedras.

[edit] Important Peaks

The northernmost peak of the Misty Mountains was Mount Gundabad, where according to legend Durin, eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke. Later it became a haven for Orcs.

The greatest Dwarven realm in Middle-Earth, Khazad-dûm, was located at the midpoint of the Misty Mountains. The city was built under three peaks, Redhorn (Caradhras in Sindarin), Silvertine (Celebdil), and Cloudyhead (Fanuidhol). Inside Silvertine the Dwarves built the Endless Stair, a stairway from the foundations of the mountain to its peak. The southernmost mountain was Methedras (Sindarin for "Last Peak").

The Redhorn Gate by Alan Lee

[edit] Passes over the Misty Mountains

The most important passes were the High Pass and the Redhorn Pass. There was also a pass at the source of the Gladden River.

[edit] Routes around the Misty Mountains

The Gap of Rohan was a passable valley between the southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost of the White Mountains. In the far north the Misty Mountains formed a T with the Grey Mountains, preventing a northern route around them.

[edit] History

[edit] Origins

The Misty Mountains were created by the Vala Melkor during the Years of the Trees as a hindrance for Oromë, who would hunt his fell creatures. They would later serve as a deterrent for the Elves during the Great Journey, causing some to turn south. The Elves that would not cross the Misty Mountains would become the Nandor.

[edit] Inhabitants

Dwarves, Orcs, Elves, Men, Hobbits, Eagles, and Ents all lived beneath or alongside the Misty Mountains.

[edit] Dwarves

The great Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm (later called the "Black Pit" of Moria) was located near the middle of the mountain chain. There Durin's folk lived for thousands of years with a kingdom which spread as far as Gundabad and as far east as the Iron Hills. Until the awakening of Durin's Bane, which drove the Dwarves from their city. It also seems that some Dwarves either before or after the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, dwelt on the eastern side of the mountains near Goblin-town.

When the Dwarves were strong, the mountains were generally free of Orcs, but when the Shadow was strong, Orcs bred in Mount Gundabad, in Goblin-town (where Bilbo Baggins found the One Ring), later in Moria itself, and everywhere in between.

[edit] Elves

The Elven enclave of Rivendell, the home of Elrond, was built in the western foothills beneath High Pass. On the eastern side of the mountains, near the source of the Silverlode river, lay the Kingdom of Lorien under the rule of Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel. While Elves guarded both sides of the Misty Mountains, few ever crossed them.

[edit] Men

The land east of the Misty Mountains and south of the Grey Mountains was the ancestral home of the Éothéod, the forefathers of the Rohirrim. Their capital was Framsburg.

[edit] Wraiths

In the Third Age the Witch-king built the Kingdom of Angmar in the western lands between the Misty Mountains and the Mountains of Angmar. The evil country was peopled by fallen Men, Orcs, and other creatures of Sauron. Its capital was Carn Dûm. At the southern tip of the Misty Mountains, beneath Methedras, was Isengard, which was originally a Gondorian fortress but was later given to Saruman. In the Third Age the south lands were protected by Rohan.

[edit] Hobbits

Hobbits lived for untold years along the foothills of the Misty Mountains near the Vales of Anduin. Around 1050, the Hobbit group known as the Harfoots migrated west across the Misty Mountains, fleeing the ever more numerous Men and the Shadow growing in Mirkwood. Later the other two groups of Hobbits, the Stoors and Fallohides, migrated west as well, until by 2500 no Hobbits could be found east of the mountains.

[edit] Eagles

Near the east exit of Goblin-town the Eagles kept an eyrie to keep watch on the Orcs. Much further south, Ents guarded Fangorn Forest, the last remnant of the great Southern Forest that surrounded the Misty Mountains eons ago.

[edit] In the Third Age

Thorin and Company used the High Pass to cross the Misty Mountains, and were captured by the Orcs of Goblin-town.

Later the Fellowship of the Ring tried to cross Redhorn Pass, after choosing not to use the High Pass or the Gap of Rohan because of the threat of Orcs patrols or Saruman's forces. A powerful blizzard blocked the Redhorn Pass, forcing the Fellowship to journey through Moria. There they faced the Balrog that ruled the mines. Gandalf slew the Balrog by throwing it from the Silvertine, but sacrificied his own life in doing so.

[edit] Portrayal in Adaptations


The Misty Mountain range as the Fellowship tries to cross the pass of Caradhras.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Misty Mountains appear as both a major game region and within other game areas. The region of "Misty Mountains" consists of the part of the mountain range adjacent to Rivendell Valley, including both High Pass and Goblin-town. The mountain range in a broader sense can also be accessed from other in-game regions, including the pass Caradhras in Eregion, former settlement of Dwarves under Thrór in eastern Enedwaith, a village on the slopes of mount Methedras in Dunland, the cliffs of Zirakzigil in Moria and the eastern slopes of the Mountains in Lothlorien.

[edit] Notes

  1. The Hithaeglir were mispelled as "Hithaiglin" on the original Lord of the Rings map.
  2. Karen Wynn Fonstad estimates in the The Atlas of Middle-earth that some of the peaks may have been as high as 12,000 feet (3,660 meters), comparable to the Alps in Europe. Tolkien had visited the Alps in his youth and was greatly impressed by them.

[edit] References