Mountains/GoT

* Mountains of the Moon
* Frostfangs
* Dragonmont
* Red Mountains
* Mother of Mountains
* Bones
* Arrowhead Mountain
* Giant's Lance
* Shadow Lands

"*The mountains are impassable.*"
―Petyr Baelish to Sansa Stark[src]
The **Mountains of the Moon** are a region in the Vale of Arryn. They form the western edge of the Vale, separating it from the Riverlands to the west. They are a substantial mountain range with many splinter ranges that dominate most of the territories ruled by House Arryn.

The western foothills and flanks of the mountains are home to hill tribes, warrior clans of varying size but unmitigated ferocity against the civilized inhabitants of the region.

## In the books

In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, the Mountains of the Moon are tall and forbidding, among the tallest peaks in all of Westeros. The largest pass through the mountains is guarded by a fortress known as the Bloody Gate, while the Eyrie, the seat of the Arryns, is built on the shoulder of the Giant's Lance, the tallest mountain in the region.

Due to their superior knowledge of the terrain, attempts by either the riverlords or the Valemen to wipe out the Hill tribes have failed. However, they lack the knowledge and technology needed to successfully prosecute siege warfare against the Vale of Arryn, which they regard as their true birthright.

"*Why come to the mountains? What's in the Frostfangs your "king" could want?*"
―Qhorin Halfhand interrogates Ygritte[src]
The **Frostfangs**, also known as the **Frostfang Mountains**, are a mountain range in the far north of the continent of Westeros. The southern peaks and foothills extend into the North of the Seven Kingdoms, but the majority of the range is located north of the Wall in wildling territory. The bulk of the mountain range lies to the northwest of the Wall between the Lands of Always Winter to their west and the Haunted Forest to their east. They are named for their jagged peaks. Wildlings are thought to know hidden valleys that can provide shelter when crossing the mountains.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Game of Thrones: Season 1
	+ 1.2Game of Thrones: Season 2
* 2Behind the scenes
* 3In the books
* 4See also
* 5References

## History

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 1

Lord Commander Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch has received intelligence suggesting that the Wildlings under the command of Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, are gathering in the mountains for unknown reasons, and he intends to investigate what they are up to.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 2

Qhorin leads a detachment of scouts, including Jon Snow, away from the main ranging force gathered at the Fist of the First Men, to explore the Skirling Pass in the Frostfangs for Wildling activity. When they kill a wildling scout group and take Ygritte prisoner, Qhorin interrogates her on why Mance Rayder would gather his people at the Frostfangs.

## Behind the scenes

* The production team felt that it was difficult and unsatisfying to realize the Frostfangs and other lands beyond the Wall with CGI or location shooting in Northern Ireland, so they chose to film these sequences in Iceland, despite the practical problems this introduced with filming (such as expense and only having a few hours of light per day with which to film).

## In the books

In *A Song of Ice and Fire*, the Frostfangs extend from the Wall northwards into the Lands of Always Winter and the remote wildling kingdom of Thenn. They are jagged and hostile peaks, always covered in snow. The Skirling Pass is the most notable pass through the mountains, leading from the Haunted Forest to the Frozen Shore. Qhorin, a ranger of the Night's Watch, is an experienced scout who knows the mountains and the pass almost as well as a wildling.

There are three main passes through the Frostfangs, of which the Skirling Pass is the southernmost. All three are relatively near the Fist of the First Men. The Skirling Pass is the southernmost. North of it is another pass known as the Giant's Stairs. Northernmost of the three is the pass through the mountains which has been carved by a major tributary of the Milkwater River. Of these passes the Milkwater is the easiest to travel through; in contrast, the Skirling Pass (and possibly also the Giant's Stairs) can become snowbound and impassable in cold weather.

The southern Frostfangs (south of the Wall) are actually part of the North, and the mountain tribes who live there are not wildlings but are sworn to House Stark. While they do live a somewhat rougher life than other people in the North, they are on good terms with Winterfell. Indeed, Ned Stark's own grandmother was a member of the Northern mountain clans. When people refer to "the Frostfangs", they are usually referring to the bulk of the range which is north of the Wall and inhabited by the wildlings.

"*Vermithor and Silverwing dwell on the Dragonmont, still riderless. Then there are the three wild dragons, all of whom nest here.*"
―Daemon Targaryen[src]
The **Dragonmont** is a volcano on the island Dragonstone in Blackwater Bay. It is used as a lair for dragons.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1House of the Dragon: Season 1
* 2In the books
* 3See also
* 4References

## History

### *House of the Dragon*: Season 1

Daemon climbs into the Dragonmont to retrieve three eggs laid by Syrax.

At the start of the Dance of the Dragons, Daemon enters Vermithor's lair in the Dragonmont to prepare the dragon to be claimed by a new rider.

## In the books

In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, Dragonmont is a rich source of dragonglass. On the foot of the volcano are villages bound to the castle Dragonstone.

The **Red Mountains** are an extensive mountain range in the south of Westeros. They form a barrier between Dorne to the south, the Stormlands to the north, and the Reach to the west. There are two major passes through the mountains, the Prince's Pass and the Boneway.

## In the books

In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, the Red Mountains are a formidable obstacle to travel between Dorne and the rest of Westeros. The northern face of the range is scattered with castles designed to defend against Dornish raids. This area is called the Dornish Marches and is part of the Stormlands.

The Red Mountains are noted as being visible from both the Tower of Joy and also Summerhall. They are so-called for the red-colored stone prevalent in the region.

The skirmish at the Tower of Joy was the last engagement of Robert's Rebellion, a civil war that divided the Seven Kingdoms and led to the fall of the Targaryen dynasty and the rise of the Baratheon dynasty.

"*Ki jini anha astak asqoy hatif Maisi Krazaaji kash shieraki vitihiri asavvasoon. Asavvasoon! Asavvasoon!* *(I swear before the Mother of Mountains as the stars look down in witness. As the stars look down in witness.)*"
―Drogo[src]
The **Mother of Mountains** is a mountain in Essos, located within sight of Vaes Dothrak, a lone mountain in the middle of the plains of the Dothraki Sea. It is considered sacred in the Dothraki religion.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Game of Thrones: Season 1
* 2In the books
* 3See also
* 4References
	+ 4.1Notes

## History

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 1

During his vow to take the Iron Throne for his unborn son, Rhaego, Khal Drogo swears by the Mother of Mountains.

## In the books

In *A Song of Ice and Fire*, the Mother of Mountains is a mountain sacred to the Dothraki people, located within sight of Vaes Dothrak and a lake known as the Womb of the World, from which, according to myth, the first man emerged riding on the first horse. Only men are allowed to set foot on the Mother of Mountains.

The **Bone Mountains** (often referred to simply as the **Bones**) are the largest mountain range in the known world, running from the northern to the southern coasts of Essos and completely bisecting the continent. The Bones are located to the east of Vaes Dothrak, the Red Waste, and Qarth, and are one of the major barriers to east-west land travel across Essos.

## Contents

* 1Geography
* 2In the books
	+ 2.1Passes and roads
	+ 2.2Regions
	+ 2.3Appearance on maps
* 3See also
* 4References

## Geography

Historically, the Bones have always been a major impediment to cross-continental movement. Due to this lack of direct contact, and therefore limited first-hand information, the lands east of the Bones are often semi-legendary to the people of Westeros. The Bones are also the reason why Vaes Dothrak and Qarth are the farthest east that people from the Seven Kingdoms regularly travel.

Men in Westeros know some details about lands and peoples east of the Bones, but these details are often sparse and may contain more legend than truth. East of the Bones, a large portion of southern Essos is dominated by the vast empire of Yi Ti, a lush, semi-tropical land and with an ancient and highly developed civilization. To the north of Yi Ti are vast plains dominated by the Jogos Nhai nomads, and southeast of Yi Ti are Asshai and the forbidding Shadow Lands.

In previous centuries, the eastern side of the Bones was also home to the great empire of Hyrkoon. In the present-day a few of its city-states, such as Bayasabhad and Samyrian, still survive, blocking the handful navigable passes between the mountains. The fierce warrior-women of Hyrkoon have smashed many armies and pillaging hordes that have attempted to force through the passes over the centuries.

## In the books

The Bone Mountains haven't been mentioned in the main *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels. They were first glimpsed on maps released as part of the *Lands of Ice and Fire* map collection, and were first described in the *The World of Ice & Fire* source book (2014). Their presence offers a convenient explanation for why Vaes Dothrak and Qarth seem to be the eastern limits of the lands that people from Westeros are in regular contact with. A handful of explorers have ventured east of these mountains to the Jade Sea and Yi Ti, but east of the Bones, detailed knowledge of the world drops off considerably, and the maesters caution that they only have a vague outline of these regions (geographically, socially, historically), much of which is only semi-legendary.

It is said that the Bone Mountains get their name from all of the bones left littered in the mountain passes by armies and travelers who died there, sometimes from conflict, but often just from the harsh environment.

The Bones are of massive proportions, extending a hundred leagues from east to west and more the five hundred leagues from north to south, with peaks that seem to touch the sky itself. Given that they block east-west travel, they are *vaguely* similar to the real-life Ural Mountains - though the Urals have more passes and are not nearly as inhospitable.

### Passes and roads

Despite bisecting the entire continent of Essos from north to south, there are *exactly* three major passes through the Bones large enough for armies and trade caravans to move through. On the eastern side of the range, three city-states, surviving remnants of the long-gone Patrimony of Hyrkoon, fiercely guard these three passes, apparently surviving on tolls they exact from caravans. From north to south these cities are are Kayakayanaya, Samyriana, and Bayasabhad, and many armies of both the Dothraki and the Jogos Nhai have smashed against them, in vain. The three passes are the Steel Road (between Vaes Dothrak and Kayakayanaya), the Stone Road (between Slaver's Bay/Lhazar and Samyriana), and the Sand Road (between Bayasabhad and Qarth).

### Regions

The northern sections of the Bone Mountains, between Kayakayanaya and the Shivering Sea, are the section closest to Vaes Dothrak: the Dothraki call this northern section the *Krazaaj Zasqa*, meaning "White Mountains", due to their snowcapped peaks. The earliest stories of the Dothraki seem to imply that during the Dawn Age, their ancestors arrived at their current location by passing west through the Bones, but this is only conjecture.

According to Dothraki legend, the northernmost section of the White Mountains were once inhabited by massive "stone giants", whom the Dothraki called the Jhogwin - savage cousins of the non-human giants found in Westeros, but twice as large. According to the Dothraki, the Jhogwin severely dwindled ever since the Dawn Age due to inexorable encroachment by surrounding humans, and the last of them died out over a thousand years ago when they were massacred by the Jogos Nhai after years of war. The exact dating of this event has not been confirmed but relies on vague oral tradition. Bones of the Jhogwin, however, have actually been found at archaeological sites in subsequent centuries, confirming both their existence and their size (around 30 feet).

The southern stretches of the Bone Mountains are called the Dry Bones: located downwind from the Red Waste, they contain very little water and are blasted by sandstorms which carve the mountains into strange shapes.

While only three major roads large enough for armies or caravans to travel on cross from one side of the mountain range to the other, there are numerous small paths that a small group of people could plausibly travel along - but only if they didn't need food and water for weeks. These smaller paths are so narrow that it would be perilous or impossible to bring enough pack animals and supplies to make the journey. Also there are many dead-end paths that lead up to hidden valleys or vast enclosed cave systems: various savage tribes of hill men or bandits make their home in these scattered refuges, preying on any travelers foolish enough to attempt taking the smaller paths without the protection of a large caravan.

### Appearance on maps

The original world map that George R.R. Martin gave to the TV series in Season 2 was an early draft, and the lands east of the Dothraki Sea and Qarth were heavily revised for the final draft which subsequently appeared in the *Lands of Ice and Fire*, now the official map for the book continuity. In the barely glimpsed TV version, the Jade Sea extends north of Qarth, when in the book version it extends to the south. Thus the eastern side of the Bones in the novels is in the mountains' rain shadow, very arid and filled with several deserts, while the TV version depicts it as a large bay. It is unclear when or if the TV series will ever correct this. The mapmaker who drew the charts appearing in *Lands of Ice and Fire* has waved aside the issue, pointing out that the maps were drawn as known to men *in Westeros*, as a maester in Oldtown might draw them, and their knowledge of lands east of the Bones is inaccurate to begin with: comparable to a map of China produced in England in the 1100s, or a map of North America produced in England in the 1500s. Thus a subsequent update of the world map for lands east of the Bones can be simply explained as an *in-universe* update as the maesters in Westeros improve and refine their knowledge of distant lands.

The **mountain shaped like an arrowhead** is a landmark north of Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Background
	+ 1.2Game of Thrones: Season 6
	+ 1.3Game of Thrones: Season 7
* 2Behind the scenes
* 3See also
* 4References

## History

### Background

Around 10,000 years before Aegon's Conquest, the Night King was created by the Children of the Forest near this mountain.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 6

Bran observes the creation of the Night King near the mountain. He later sees the army of the dead assembled at the foot of the mountain, before being discovered and marked by the Night King.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 7

The Hound sees the mountain in a vision while staring into a fireplace. The dead are marching past.

The arrowhead mountain serves as the location of a battle between the White Walkers and Jon's party.

## Behind the scenes

Kirkjufell (Icelandic: *Church Mountain*) is a mountain on the north coast of the Snæfellsnes in Iceland. It is 463 meters high and is the most photographed mountain in the country. It was called "Sukkertoppen" (Sugar peak) by Danish sailors and is sometimes described as the most peculiar if not the most beautiful mountain on the peninsula. It is possible to walk all the way around the mountain, as it is cut off from the rest of the mountain range. An average journey around the mountain takes about 3 hours.

"*The armies of the First Men and the Andals met beneath the Giant's Lance to decide the fate of the Vale.*"
―Petyr Baelish[src]
The **Giant's Lance** is a mountain in the Vale of Arryn.

## Contents

* 1History
* 2In the books
* 3See also
* 4References

## History

The Giant's Lance was the site of the Battle of the Seven Stars where Ser Artys Arryn and the Griffin King fought for dominion over the Vale. Arryn eventually overcame and killed the Griffin King. Qyle Corbray was also among the dead there.

## In the books

In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, the same information is given about the Giant's Lance.

"*In the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai, they say there are fields of Ghost Grass, with stalks as pale as milk that glow in the night, murders all other grass. The Dothraki believe that one day, it'll cover everything, that's the way the world will end.*"
―Ser Jorah Mormont[src]
The **Shadow Lands** lie on the continent of Essos, located thousands of miles to the east of Westeros, the Free Cities, and Slaver's Bay, beyond the fabled land of Asshai. The city of Stygai lies within the Shadow Lands.

## Contents

* 1History
	+ 1.1Game of Thrones: Season 1
	+ 1.2Game of Thrones: Season 2
* 2In the books
* 3See also
* 4References

## History

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 1

Illyrio Mopatis gives Daenerys a wedding gift of three dragon eggs, said to be from the Shadow Lands beyond Asshai.

On their travels east, Jorah Mormont tells Daenerys that the Shadow Lands are said to be covered by "ghost grass", a form of grass that, in Dothraki belief, will overrun the green grass of the Dothraki Sea and spell the end of the world.

### *Game of Thrones*: Season 2

During her stay in Qarth, Daenerys and Jorah encounter Quaithe, a mysterious woman hailing from the Shadow Lands.

## In the books

In the *A Song of Ice and Fire* novels, the Shadow Lands are a mountainous region beyond Asshai and one of the most remote locations of the Known world. The ruins of Stygai, "the city of night" are found at its heart. To go to Asshai is sometimes described as to "pass beneath the Shadow", though what exactly the Shadow is, or what is casting it, nobody seems to know. The region is inhabited, by a people known as "Shadow Men", who are tattooed and hide their faces behind red lacquer masks. Shadow Men occasionally come to trade at Vaes Dothrak, where Daenerys sees them. Whether the inhabitants of Asshai are considered Shadow Men or not is not revealed.

The *Lands of Ice and Fire* map book (which features a significantly different outline of eastern Essos than the TV Series) revealed that the Shadow Lands are a large, triangular peninsula that juts out from mainland Essos into the Jade Sea. The entire region seems to be extremely mountainous. The tip of the peninsula points roughly southwest, with Asshai located at its narrowest point. The Ash River, which empties into the sea at Asshai, flows through the mountains of the Shadow Lands before reaching the city. The *World of Ice and Fire* elaborated only a little on the nature of the Shadow Lands: the mountains are so tall that the canyons and valleys within, including that of the Ash, see light only at high noon, and that the region is barren of all benign life. Ghost grass is the only plant that grows there, monsters are said to lurk everywhere, and the fish of the river Ash (whose waters are black during the day and glow green at night) are so poisonous that only fools and Shadowbinders dare eat their flesh. The region is rich in minerals, however, and Asshai's wealth sustained by the exportation of precious metals, gems, and dragonglass. The book again did not elaborate on what "the Shadow" is. Although there is a vague implication that it is a euphemism for the height of the Shadowlands' mountains and the unsettling black stone that Asshai is constructed from, this is not confirmed.