Thousand Needles Prior to the Cataclysm , Thousand Needles ( aka The Thousand Needles ) was a huge canyon in Southern Kalimdor , filled with towering mesas . In the east , the canyon opened up to the Shimmering Flats , a vast salt pan that was used by Goblin and Gnomish engineers for their races . Despite being relatively barren , the area had its own harsh beauty , and the sunrises seen from either Freewind Post or one of the mesas around Darkcloud Pinnacle were spectacular . The Shimmering Flats and Mirage Raceway were also worth visiting for their surreal , lonely atmosphere . The Thousand Needles is a contested territory , and can be tiresome to travel around without a Flying mount , especially since the bridges linking major sites are packed with battling Tauren . As a result this area doesn ' t see anywhere near as much action as some , but Darkcloud Pinnacle is a favorite stealth ganking spot for Alliance rogues due to the many Horde quests there as well as the relative difficulty of the mobs / remoteness of that location . The Alliance attack the Great Lift and Freewind Post fairly regularly - however the Great Lift was demolished in Cataclysm . In addition , players questing on the Shimmering Flats near the Tanaris border are advised to look over their shoulder from time to time , as the unwary can occasionally find themselves being stabbed in the back by a passing member of the opposing faction . History . Before the great Sundering , the region of Thousand Needles was a river canyon , the spires of sandstone shaped from years of rushing water . Water flowed to the sea from a large lake to the east , fed by an underground tributary . Then came the demons and the destruction that threw the entire world into upheaval . The canyon was thrust above the water table ; the eastern lake dried into a vast salt flat and Thousand Needles became a sandy gorge . Thousand Needles rises south of Dustwallow Marsh and serves as a channel to Desolace to the west or the Tanaris Desert to the South . It also connects to Feralas . The long canyon stands as a natural divide between central and southern Kalimdor . The realm gets its name from the dozens of giant , cylindrical columns of sandstone that rise from the bottom of the canyon like a forest . Bridges have been constructed atop many of the spires , connecting pathways across the canyon from one side of the surrounding mountains to the other . To the east of Thousand Needles , the canyon opens into a large , dry lakebed . This dried - out salt flat is actually below sea level . At its center stands an alkaline lake with ten times the salt of any ocean . The sere region is so hot , dry and salty that few creatures venture here . Lizards , scorpions , vultures , and birds of prey are not uncommon and neither are centaur war bands . A contingent of goblins mines for oil in the Scorched Basin . The spire bridges allow travelers to traverse the canyon without running into the barbaric centaur who patrol the canyon floor . The bridges are not entirely safe , however , as birds of prey will attack the unwary . Larger birds have even sabotaged the bridges from time to time . There is very little of interest in this land , unless someone has a passion for salt or sandstone . . . or oil . The barren canyons of Thousand Needles have traditionally been the territory of several Tauren tribes . The Tauren were forced to live precariously on the tips of the high mesas in order to avoid the large tribes of Centaur that almost wiped them out . Now , with the help of the Horde , the Tauren are fighting back against their enemies , including the fanatical Grimtotem Tribe . The Shimmering Flats to the southeast are also the home of the world famous Mirage Racetrack , where gnome s and goblin s race their respective rocket cars in order to permanently settle the question of which race has better engineering . It is suspected that ages ago Thousand Needles was once a small inland sea , or perhaps even an inlet of the Great Sea . This explains the salt flat as well as why there are so many " needle " - like mesas ( once possibly islands ) . The cause for the sea ' s evaporation could be attributed to the sundering , which tore the ancient Kalimdor cleanly in two . A catastrophe such as this could easily have caused climate change . Another theory states that a river with its source in Feralas , possibly Wildwind Lake , flowed into the area that would become Thousand Needles . The river cut through the earth , carving the canyon and shaping the dramatic pinnacles that became the Thousand Needles . It was a verdant , forested land . The river emptied into a large inland sea in the east . When the Great Sundering occurred , the course of the river was altered and ceased to flow through what would become Thousand Needles . The forests died and the fertile soil became orange dust . The inland sea , without its source of water , evaporated , leaving behind a vast salt flat . It has also been thought by Falfindel Waywarder of Thalanaar that dark magic of some kind blighted the land . Getting there . After the Cataclysm , the Great Lift was destroyed and Camp Taurajo burned to ashes ; the simplest entry is after a quest in Dustwallow Marsh ( ) or Dustwallow Marsh / Feralas ( ) brings you to New Thalanaar / Westreach Summit . Geography . Thousand Needles contains no raid dungeons , micro dungeons , or battlegrounds . Notable characters . The Thousand Needles are home to several characters of note . At Freewind Post , Cliffwatcher Longhorn seeks aid in the battle against the evil Grimtotem Clan . At the Weathered Nook , Dorn Plainstalker attempts to teach members of the Horde about Faith , Endurance , and Strength . And at the Mirage Raceway , Kravel Koalbeard sends bold adventurers around the world in search items that will give him personal gain in his bets at the gnome and goblin races . Quests . Horde quests in Thousand Needles begin around level 25 and go through level 35 . Neutral quests at the Shimmering Flats begin around level 30 and continue to level 35 . Some of the neutral quests that send players out of the zone continue all the way up to level 45 . Notable quest chains include and , both neutral and available at the Mirage Raceway . In Cataclysm . In , Thousand Needles is completely flooded and retuned as level 40 - 45 zone . Razorfen Downs , previously located in the southern part of the Barrens , is located in the North of Thousand Needles in " Cataclysm " ( Razorfen Kraul is still in the Southern Barrens ) . In the lake that was formerly the Shimmering Flats , a massive " speedbarge " run by Goblins and Gnomes floats over the flooded ruins of the Mirage Raceway . Clearly even the fact that most of the area is now underwater could not put Goblins off the idea of making money out of it somehow . Areas affected :