Grey Mountains Narrow

The thin strip of land that separated Mirkwood from the Ered Mithrin, which got its name from the sections where the forest drew within a few miles of the mountains, was known throughout the Wilderland as the Narrows (Q. Arka). The Narrows proper were held to be the wide, flat-bottomed valley which stretches either side of the young Taurduin (S. Forest river), where it emerged from the Ered Mithrin. Its boundaries were two areas where the mountains and the forest almost met — the west gap and the east gap. Largely protected from the worst of the arctic weather by the bulwark of the Ered Mithrin, it was a fairly hospitable land and wildlife was plentiful. Away from the immediate vicinity of the river the land was mostly arable, although the growing season was short due to the cold winter. . A major feature of the Narrows was the Men-i-Mithrin, winding its way through the hills and valleys. During the middle years of the Third Age this road was much used for goods traveling from Dale to Framsburg (Wraecburg), and it was kept in good repair; a service- able bridge was built across the Taurduin for heavier trafﬁc.