Withered Heath (Rhovanion)

The Withered Heath was a glacial valley consisting of two East-West arms of the Ered Mithrin mountain chain that ran for approximately two hundred miles.As the name implied, the great basin tucked in the eastern side of the Ered Mithrin was hardly hospitable. Dry lakebeds, dehydrated or steaming swamps, and scorched moors marked the Withered Heath (Q. "Sarch nia Linguelíë"). The Westernmost end was the calving place of tumbled glaciers where the waters ran into a permafrost bog that would normally have been the seasonal home for a variety of wetland creatures during the brief but intense summers. However, the lords of this particular demense drove off or consumed all but the lowliest of rodents or insect life. Dragons called the withered heath their home and breeding grounds,for thousands of years, the Great Worms had claimed this valley as a vast abode for their nests.Some, particularly the lordly Fire-drakes, inhabited the many caverns and hollow hills found in the Heath. The more prevalent Cold-drakes, on the other hand, prefered nearby mountain homes. The region was also home to lesser drakes, some of which were cold drakes, some wingless worms, all of which should have given give the boldest of explorers cause to reflect on their expectations of the afterlife. These dragons fought and stole from each other constantly though fortunately each was vain enough to refrain from needing alliance with any of the others. The winged variety searched at various times in a day's flight from their homes in search of prey or amusement that often amounted to the same thing. Given their speed of flight that rivaled that of the Great Eagles, that could be quite far indeed. The dwarves of the Iron Hills were wary and the men of Dale oft dreamt of consuming fire on the heights.

Regions
Den Loke Hollow Hills Irerock Men Rhûnen Southern Rim

Places of Note
Anvilmount Bat Dome Caves of Ûlund Dancing Spire Goat Mountain Gold Hill Gondmaeglom Long Peak Udûnanca

Inhabitants
Agburanar Ando-Anca Angûrth Daelomin Haurnfile Hyarleuca Itangast Leucaruth Nimanaur Ruingurth Smaug Throkmaw Turukulon Uruial