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Middle-Earth gets a Geological Makeover | Green tea and Velociraptors
Middle-Earth gets a Geological Makeover | Green tea and Velociraptors
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Plate Tectonics and Middle Earth
- Thread starter Steerpike
- Start date
CupofJoe
Istari
That is - impressive...
Ireth
Mythic Scribe
The nerdiness level of whoever figured that out is DEFINITELY over 9000. XD
Cosmolien
Apprentice
Thank you this is really helpful
Mindfire
Istari
There are no words.
One does not simply tectonically explain Mordor.
When I looked at a Middle Earth map for the first time, I thought that the mountains and other features were displayed in a very unnatural order and that they could not be explained from a realistic and geological point of view.
I mean, why is Mordor a high plateau surrounded by mountains, like it was a natural fortress or something??
The map even made me think of the world Fantastica and also my own Fantasy worlds, where the high mountains, vast forests, freezing ice fields and also huge lakes exist at very unusual places for no apparent reason =)
I think that Tolkien did not really care about realistic geology, and from my point of view, this tells us that we should not always take so seriously the realistic details and construction of our Fantasy worlds.
I mean, why is Mordor a high plateau surrounded by mountains, like it was a natural fortress or something??
The map even made me think of the world Fantastica and also my own Fantasy worlds, where the high mountains, vast forests, freezing ice fields and also huge lakes exist at very unusual places for no apparent reason =)
I think that Tolkien did not really care about realistic geology, and from my point of view, this tells us that we should not always take so seriously the realistic details and construction of our Fantasy worlds.
Sparkie
Dark Lord
In my opinion, there can indeed be such a thing as too much worldbuilding.
- Thread starter
- #9
Often followed by the insistence on sharing with the reader your way-too-much world building, thereby boring the reader stiff until she throws your book at the cat.
FatCat
Scribal Lord
No matter how boring a book is, leave cats out of it! They've done nothing wrong...usually.
Weaver
Mystagogue
Isn't the cat usually ON the book in the first place...?
Feo Takahari
Dark Lord
I dunno. There has to be a midpoint between overexplaining and rivers that run through mountain ranges (thank you, Paolini!)
Perhaps Sauron took a few thousand years to shift the landscape around so that Mordor would essentially be a fortress. He was an Ainur, after all.
Mindfire
Istari
You saying mountains don't have rivers? Huh?
One of the Maiar to be more precise. IIRC, the term "Ainur", though not technically wrong, is generally used to describe their state of being outside of Eä.