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Places in Middle-earth

Downs, The

Type: Mountains, Hills, Promontories

Region: Rohan

Location: Lines of hills that parallel, on both sides, the uplands called the Wold (in Rohan) and the Brown Lands (across the Anduin).

Description: Slowly the downs drew near. It was still an hour before noon when they reached them: green slopes rising to bare ridges that ran in a line straight towards the North. At their feet the ground was dry and the turf short, but a long strip of sunken land, some ten miles wide, lay between them and the river.... Just to the West of the southernmost slope ... the orc-trail ran out again, turning north along the dry skirts of the hills. ...

'I can see nothing away north or west but grass dwindling into mist,' said Gimli. 'Could we see the forest, if we climbed the hills?'

'It is still far away,' said Aragorn. 'If I remember rightly, these downs run eight leagues or more to the north, and then north-west to the issuing of the Entwash there lies still a wide land, another fifteen leagues it may be.' ...

The sun was sinking when at last they drew near to the end of the line of downs. ...

... they followed [Legolas], climbing the long slope [of a green hill], until they came out upon the top. It was a round hill smooth and bare, standing by itself, the most northerly of the downs. ...

... at last the sunrise came. ... wide lands lay bleak about them....

Ahead and eastward they saw the windy uplands of the Wold of Rohan.... Northwestward stalked the dark forest of Fangorn; still ten leagues away stood its shadowy eaves, and its further slopes faded into the distant blue. Beyond there glimmered far away, as if floating on a grey cloud, the white head of tall Methedras, the last peak of the Misty Mountains.

The Two Towers, LoTR Book 3, Ch 2, The Riders of Rohan

Contributors: Elena Tiriel 15Jan05

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