Dustwall Mountains The Dustwall Mountains ( also called simply the Dustwalls or just the Dustwall ) separated southern Raurin from northern Durpar in the Shining South . They were so named because they protected Durpar from the turbulent sandstorms that ravaged the Raurin desert . It had many names , being also known as the Mountains of War and the Mountains of Adama . Geography . The Dustwall appeared to be an arm of the great Yehimal . In the east , where the Dustwall joined the wider mountains of the A - Ling Shan ( one of the many mountain ranges that comprised the Yehimal ) , were the Ice Peaks . A short branch of the Dustwall ran south into Durpar ; this was called the Gryphon Mountains . This name was also sometimes applied to the Dustwall Mountains as a whole . The Dustwall continued west in the Giant ' s Belt , a similar range that curved north and continued to separate the Shining Lands from the Raurin . The Dustwall Mountains marked the northern borders of the lands of Durpar , Var , and Estagund , and of Ulgarth , separating them from the forbidding lands of the Dust Desert . They shielded the southern lands against the raging sandstorms . There were few passes through the Dustwall , and none of them were useful for trade between the Raurin and Durpar and Ulgarth . The easier lower passes were blanketed by the Scarlet Jungle in the south and the only real passage through the mountains was a narrow pass blocked by the legendary Gate of Iron . The great Jumpa River , after running by the A - Ling Shan , flowed through the Great Pass of the Yehimal . It emerged from the Ice Peaks of the Dustwall as the River Xon , also known as the Gaya . Description . The Dustwall Mountains averaged 15 , 000 ft . ( 4600 m ) high along its central ridge , making it one of the tallest mountain ranges in all of Toril ; none were lower than 13 , 000 ft ( 4000 m ) . The highest peak of the Dustwall mountains , Adama ' s Wrath , soared over 22 , 000 ft . ( 6700 m ) into the air . The Dustwall stood in the dry and rugged category of ranges of the Hordelands . This category of mountains were typically of granite and shale , with steep slopes that were only slightly more eroded than the Yehimals themselves . Small glaciers plowed through the slopes . Indeed , the mountains of the Dustwall were rough and raw , with steep slopes that rose to towering heights . The whole area was rocky and scarred by gorges and deadfalls . Even the foothills were jagged ridges strewn with stones , and the valleys between were blocked by rock outcrops and thorny brush . The land was harsh and there was little vegetation to be found , bar scrub plants of the hardiest varieties , like thorny brushes . Iron ore was plentiful in the Dustwall , attracting dwarven miners . By 1367 DR , the mining was heavy but had barely tapped the full potential mineral wealth . Climate . The high peaks of the Dustwall and the Giant ' s Belt blocked moisture - bearing winds from the coast , causing a rain shadow on their leeward side , causing the Dust Desert of Raurin . The climate in the lowlands around the mountains was very hot , but the highest peaks stood above the climatic snowline , and thus were capped in ice throughout the year . Inhabitants . Gray orc s were perhaps the most numerous creature to be found in the mountains , a fact that helped spawn the name " Mountains of War . " Although their true population was unknown , it was feared that the orcs far outnumbered the entire population of the Shining Lands . They controlled an estimated 95 % of the range . This population density was at odds with the desolate nature of the mountains , which surely didn ' t provide sufficient food for them all , and some contended the true population was much lower . Regardless , an orc raiding party numbering 5 , 000 strong was not unheard of near the Mountains of War . Because of the constant threat of attack from the orcs , people dwelling nearby remained ever - vigilant . Despite the danger , dwarves gathered here to mine for the rich veins of iron . They were not scared off by the presence of orcs , but they also took care to avoid the dangerous orcs whenever possible . Several dangerous species of monsters inhabited the mountains as well in great numbers , including wyverns and several races of giants , including cyclopes , hill giant s , ogres , stone giant s , and some storm giant s . There were even recurring rumors that a frost giant clan lived at the high , snow - capped peaks , despite the climate in the surrounding lowlands being so hot that they were unlikely to have migrated there by conventional means . Several of the giant clans commanded rune magic , contributing to that discipline ' s negative reputation in the South . Even a handful of rakshasa established themselves here by 1367 DR . The rakshasa seemed bent of conquering an empire in the lowlands using their gray orc slaves , if they could first bring the unruly orcs under their control . History . Around roughly −2700 DR , during the time of the Imaskar Empire , the peoples of the south wished to have a barrier against the approaching Imaskari forces . Thus , at enormous expense , they constructed the Gate of Iron across the only accessible pass through the Dustwall . It was closed against all attack and passage . The Gate was opened and closed for the last time around a thousand years later , sometime around −1700 DR . Such was its great magic , it would not be reopened . By 1359 DR , the Gate of Iron had remained closed for over three thousand years . By then , the Gate of Iron was simply a headache for local merchants , who had to go the long way around , through Durpar or even through the Shaar to Var the Golden , with attendant taxes and tolls . Some hoped for ways to open the Gate of Iron again , and so cross the Dustwall with ease , but the rulers of Durpar and Var would not be pleased . By the mid – 14th century DR , the kingdom of Ulgarth had long suffered raids by the gray orcs of the Dustwall . Around 1367 DR , warnings circulated that the gray orcs were preparing for a major assault on the lands of men . A horde of thousands of orcs was expected . So concerned were their leaders that both Flyndagol in Durpar and Kaspar and Suormpar in Ulgarth began recruiting solders , and even hired mercenaries , to supplement their standing forces , as well securing the services of armorers and weaponsmiths . Locations . The Gate of Iron stood at the very top of a narrow mountain pass at a neck in the range . The gates themselves stood within a massive stone battlement , offering the only passage through the barrier . Although over four millennia old , the gates remained unblemished well into the mid - 1300s DR . Rumors and Legends . According to legend , the Dustwall Mountains rose during the cataclysm that felled the Raurin empire , that is , Imaskar . All who gazed upon them were inclined to believe it .