The Emyn Gonngaran (S. "Red Stone Hills"), known to the Harûze as the Ausk Dubat, were a great range of rugged hills lying between the southern Ephel Duath and the lowland valleys of the lower Harnen and Óde Têzar.
Geography[]
The Emyn Gonngaran began as foothills of the Ephel Duath on the borders of Ithilien and stretched eastward to the lower rivers. There they joined with the Emyn Imladrim (which marked the southern edge of the highlands of Harondor) to form a broad expanse of broken, scrub-covered hills. Deep gorges and hundreds of small ravines choked with thorn bushes cut through the range. Some four hundred miles to the east, the Emyn Gonngaran gave way to the less rugged desert country of the Bursk Merag. The Harnen and many of its tributaries cut through the midsection of the hills, forming the gorges of Kres Lugal.
Roads and Passes[]
Two roads ran alongside these rivers, connecting the lands south and north of the hills. The Irit Núrn and the Râk Shelkâr linked Oud Ilaz and Korb Taskral, lying south of the Emyn Gonngaran, with passes that led northward to Núrn and Shelkâr. During the years of Gondorian rule over Harad, the Harnen served as the eastern boundary of the province of Harondor. Gondor maintained access to the upper Harnen and the Râk Shelkâr through three roads that ran west to east across the highlands of Harondor:
- The Rath Amrûn connected Amon Eithel and Tirith Amrûn across the Aegardh. It crossed the gorges of the Malduin and Carnen and descended to Amrûn through the Emyn Imladrim.
- The Men Dubat was a lesser road that ran along the southern edge of the Emyn Gonngaran to Oud Ilaz.
- The Men Dirnen was a military road running from Athrad Poros along the foothills of the Ephel Duath. It turned down the Óde Têzar to reach Oud Ilaz from the north.
References[]
- MERP:Southern Gondor - The Land
- Fanmodules:MORDOR GAZETTEER
Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.