Misty Mountains

The Misty Mountains, also named Hithaeglir, was a mountain range stretching 1280 kilometres (796 miles) from Mount Gundabad in the far north to Methedras in the south of Middle-earth, between Eriador and Rhovanion.
An early version of these mountains' name was the Sindarin Ered Hithui.
== Description ==
The range's notable peaks were Caradhras, Celebdil, Fanuidhol, Mount Gundabad, and Methedras.
Its most important passes were the High Pass and Redhorn Pass. There was also a pass at the source of the Gladden river.The Atlas of Middle-earth
=== Location ===
The northernmost peak of the Misty Mountains was Mount Gundabad; where according to legend Durin (eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves) awoke, though it later became an Orc-hold and mountain-fortress of Orcs.
The greatest Dwarven realm in Middle-earth, Khazad-dûm (later named Moria), was located at the midpoint of the Misty Mountains. The three peaks that were part of Khazad-dûm were Caradhras (Redhorn), Celebdil (Silvertine) and Fanuidhol (Cloudyhead). Inside Celebdil, the Dwarves built the Endless Stair, from the foundations of the mountain to the top of it. The southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains was Methedras, meaning "the Last Peak".
=== Inhabitants ===
Under the Misty Mountains was the former Dwarf realm of Khazad-dûm (Moria), and the "Goblin-town" in which Bilbo Baggins stumbled across the One Ring, which had been in the possession of the creature Gollum, who also dwelt there himself on the eastern side.
Far below Moria or Goblin-town, in the uttermost foundations of stone, "nameless things" are said to have gnawed on the earth. One of the Balrogs (known later as Durin's Bane) which escaped the War of Wrath fled to the Misty Mountains, and hibernated beneath Moria for over 5,000 years, learning to navigate the tunnels made by nameless things.
The elven refuge of Rivendell was hidden in the foothills of the Misty Mountains at the western end of the High Pass. The High Pass itself was inhabited by "stone-giants", who threw rocks at each other during thunderstorms as a form of game, as told in The Hobbit.
Carn Dûm, where the Witch-king of Angmar resided for several centuries in the Third Age, lay between a western spur of the northern extreme of the range, known as the Mountains of Angmar. Mount Gundabad, the largest Goblin dwelling in the Misty Mountains, was located south-east of Angmar.
Isengard lay centered around the tower of Orthanc in Nan Curunír, the valley between the arms of Methedras, the southernmost of the Misty Mountains.
== History ==
=== Origins ===
The Misty Mountains were created by Melkor during the Time of the Trees, who wanted to make it difficult for Oromë to pass, as he often rode across Middle-earth hunting the Dark Lord's fell beasts.
The first inhabitants of the Misty Mountains were nameless things, who lived below the earth supposedly before even Sauron entered Arda. They delved the first tunnels of the mountains, which the Orcs and Dwarves would later colonize and build upon, driving these nameless things to deeper darker corners without even knowing.
=== Years of the Trees ===
Later, when the Elves on their Great Journey to Valinor looked upon the mountains' terrible height, a portion of the Teleri, later known as the Nandor, grew afraid and turned southward down the Great River. 
The Dwarves of Durin awoke upon a time underneath Mount Gundabad and would establish the realm of Khazad-dûm. Many centuries later, the Ñoldor returned to Middle-earth and established great realms in Beleriand and in the highlands, but never crossed the Misty Mountains or established realms close to them.
=== First and Second Ages ===
Over three-hundred years into the First Age, the tribes of Men crossed the Misty Mountains and began migrating into Beleriand, first the Edain and then later the Easterlings or "Swarthy Men". After the defeat of Morgoth, the surviving Orcs came to live in the mountains and would remain a problem for over six-thousand years. The Easterling men who fought with Morgoth crossed the mountains and began living east of Wilderland in Rhûn. The Great Eagles also began living here in many eyries, the most important of which was known as the Great Shelf.
The great Dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm beneath the Misty Mountains thrived as good relations with the Ñoldor of Eregion were established, until Sauron invaded Eriador from the south destroying Eregion and ravaging the lands beyond. The Dwarves survived by shutting themselves in Khazad-dûm behind the Doors of Durin.The Silmarillion
During the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron sent a force of Orcs to occupy the mountains and hinder any troops that tried to cross them. In the event, the main strength of Gil-galad and Elendil passed that way and the Orcs hid. Ultimately though, they would re-emerge to perpetrate the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.
=== Third Age ===
In TA 1980, the great Dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm came to an end when the Dwarves unearthed a Balrog which led to its desertion by TA 1981, after which it was known as Moria (meaning "black chasm"). Slowly, the Misty Mountains became increasingly perilous and dangerous to travelers as orcs and other creatures came to dwell beneath them, constructing settlements such as Goblin-town.
Almost a thousand years later, the thirteen Dwarves, Gandalf, and Bilbo Baggins used the High Pass to cross the Misty Mountains during the Quest of Erebor and were captured by Orcs whilst crossing. Under the mountains, the Great Goblin was slain, and Bilbo found the One Ring.
After coming through Eregion, the Fellowship of the Ring tried to cross the Redhorn Pass (after rejecting the High Pass, as it was watched by the Enemy, and the Gap of Rohan would have taken the Fellowship too close to Isengard), but a blizzard forced them to go under the mountain instead of over it. Within Moria they faced the Balrog that dwelt in the deserted realm of Khazad-dûm. Gandalf slew the Balrog by casting it down from Zirakzigil, but it had worn his life already, and on that high ground he lay until Gwaihir bore him to Lothlórien, where he was renewed as Gandalf the White.
==Etymology==
Its secondary Sindarin name of Hithaeglir comes from hîth, meaning "mist": and aeglir, meaning "range of mountain peaks".
== Trivia ==
* Led Zeppelin recorded a song, "Misty Mountain Hop", which borrows this name from Tolkien. Several other Led Zeppelin songs contain MIddle-earth references within their lyrics, such as "The Battle of Evermore" and "Ramble On".
* Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time also features a mountain range called the Mountains of Mist.
* The Misty Montes on Titan, Saturn's largest moon, are named after the Misty Mountains. This is from an IAU convention that names mountain ranges on Titan after mountain ranges from Tolkien's work.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Mistige Berge
Albanian 	Malet e Mjegullt
Amharic 	ጭጋግና ተራሮች
Arabic 	جبال الضباب
Armenian 	Մառախլապատ լեռներ
Azerbaijani 	Dumanlı Dağları
Basque 	Lausotu Mendiak
Belarusian Cyrillic 	Туманныя горы
Bengali 	কুয়াশাচ্ছন্ন পর্বতমালার
Bosnian 	Maglovite planine
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Мъгливите планини (Misty Mountains)
Хисаеглир (Hithaeglir)
Burmese 	နှင်းမြူခိုးတောင်တန်း
Catalan 	Muntanyes Boiroses
Cebuano 	Gabon nga kabukiran
Chichewa 	Kwankhungu Mapiri
Chinese (Hong Kong) 	迷霧山脈
Corsician 	Muntagni Nebbia
Croatian 	Maglovite planine
Czech 	Mlžné hory
Danish 	Tågebjergene
Dutch 	Mistige Bergen
Estonian 	UduMägede
Filipino 	Maulap na bundok
Finnish 	Sumuvuoret
French 	Monts Brumeux
Frisian 	Mistich Bergen
Galician 	Montañas Enevoadas
Georgian 	ნისლიანი მთები
German 	Nebelgebirge
Greek 	Ομιχλώδης βουνά
Gujarati 	ઝાકળવાળું પર્વતો
Hindi 	मिस्टी पहाड़ों
Hungarian 	Köd-hegység
Icelandic 	Þokufullurfjöll
Irish Gaelic 	Sléibhte an Cheo
Italian 	Montagne Nebbiose
Indonesian 	Pegunungan Berkabut
Japanese 	霧ふり山脈
Kannada 	ಮಿಸ್ಟಿ ಪರ್ವತಗಳು
Kazakh 	Тұманды таулар (Cyrillic) Tumandı tawlar (Latin)
Korean 	안개 낀 산
Kurdish 	Çiyayên Moranê (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Тумандуу тоолор
Latin 	Nebulosa Montes
Latvian 	Miglains Kalni
Lithuanian 	Rūkas Kalnuose
Luxembourgish 	Niwweleg Bierger
Macedonian Cyrillic 	Магливи Планини
Malayalam 	മൂടൽമഞ്ഞ് പർവതങ്ങൾ
Malagasy 	Zavona Tendrombohitra
Malaysian 	Gunung Berkabus
Maltese 	Muntanji Taċ-ċpar
Marathi 	धुक्याचे डोंगर
Manx 	Sleityn Fo-chay ?
Mongolian Cyrillic 	хандаасай уулс
Nepalese 	कुहिरो पहाडहरू
Norwegian 	Tåkefjellene
Persian 	کوه های مه آلود
Polish 	Góry Mgliste
Portuguese 	Montanhas Sombrias or Montanhas Nebulosas (Brazil) Montanhas Nebulosas (Portugal)
Punjabi 	ਧੁੰਦ ਪਹਾੜ
Romanian 	Munții Cețoși/Munții Pâcloși
Russian 	Мглистые горы
Sanskrit 	मास्तु मायात्मक
Scottish Gaelic 	Beinntean a 'Cheò
Serbian 	Маглене Планине (Cyrillic) Maglene Planine (Latin)
Sicilian 	Muntagne Nebbiose
Sinhalese 	මීදුම් සහිතය කඳුකරය
Slovak 	Hmlisté hory
Slovenian 	Meglene Gore
Somali 	Buuraha ceeryaamo ah
Spanish (Spain and Latin America)	Montañas Nubladas
Swahili 	Milima ya Ukungu
Swedish 	Dimmiga Bergen
Tajik Cyrillic 	Кӯҳҳои туман
Tamil 	மூடுபனி மலைகள்
Tatar 	Томанлы таулар
Telugu 	పొగమంచుగల పర్వతాలు
Thai 	เทือกเขามิสตี้
Turkish 	Puslu Dağlar
Turkmen 	Dumanly Daglar
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Туманні гори
Urdu 	دھندلے پہاڑ
Uzbek 	Туманли Тоғлар (Cyrillic) Tumanli Tog'lar (Latin)
Welsh 	Mynyddoedd Niwlog
Yiddish 	נעפּלדיק בערג
Zulu 	Nekungu izintaba
== References ==
cs:Mlžné Hory
de:Nebelgebirge
es:Montañas Nubladas
fr:Monts Brumeux
it:Montagne Nebbiose
nl:Nevelbergen
pl:Góry Mgliste
ru:Мглистые горы
Category:Mountain ranges
Category:Eriador
Category:Rhovanion
Category:Middle-earth