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Gwathló (S. "Greyflood", orig. Gwathir, "River of Shadow"; Ad. Agathurush) was the wide, slow-moving river that cut through southeastern Eriador. Formed by the confluence of the rivers Mitheithel (Hoarwell) and Glanduin, it carried water south-westward into the Belegaer. The Gwathló separated Minhiriath from Enedhwaith and formed the long southeastern border of Cardolan. The ports of Tharbad, Súthure, and Lond Daer were situated on its banks. The streams that flowed eastward from the hills of Tyrn Hyarmen and the plateau of Girithlin formed a great alluvial watershed through the provinces of Dol Caladir and Dol Tinereb into the Gwathló Valley. This rich, silt-fed land comprised possibly the best farmland in all Eriador, and in the days of Arnor was that kingdom's granary. Rainfall from the wet winds blowing up river from Belegaer measured from thirty to forty inches per year, though quoting averages was dangerous: there was one dry year in every four, and a drought year one in every twenty. The valley was rich and fertile, however, rainfall had been declining and the land had sustained one thousand years of farming, and was vulnerable to high winds throughout the region unbroken by few trees or any major mountains. Erosion was already a problem, and Cardolan would become a dust bowl if the factors in any given year all were negative.

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