The Weather of Middle Earth...

[curiouswombat]

I thought some of my friends might find this article in The Guardian interesting.

A Bristol University expert on past climate change has traced some of Tolkien's detailed maps, and then effectively "scanned" that into the university's computer to determine the weather patterns of Middle Earth.

He has come up with a number of interesting observations - for example

• Much of Middle Earth would have been covered in dense forest if the landscape had not been altered by dragons, orcs, wizards etc.

And that the climate around Mount Doom is very like that of Los Angeles...

Comments

[beckyzoole.livejournal.com]

I need to read this article! Before I do, I wonder if Mount Doom was meant to be somewhat like the Lawrence Livermore Laboratories near Berkeley -- which admittedly is near San Francisco, not Los Angeles, but considering poetic license.... Must read!

[curiouswombat.livejournal.com]

Enjoy - it is not terribly long, but it is quite fun.

I liked the consideration into why the Elves sailed from The Grey Havens especially.