The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Location
A huge bay of the Great Sea in the far north of Middle-earth
Race
Cultures
Settlements
Mainly concentrated along the Cape of Forochel
Pronunciation
Forochel is pronounced 'fo'rochel' (ch as in Scots 'loch')
Meaning
Forochel means 'northern ice'
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 26 February 2022
  • This entry is complete

Icebay of Forochel

The great northern bay of Middle-earth

Map of the Icebay of Forochel
The Icebay of Forochel (somewhat conjectural)1
The Icebay of Forochel (somewhat conjectural)1

In the distant north of Middle-earth, between the far reaches of the Blue and the Misty Mountains, lay a wide icy bay of the Great Sea. This was the mighty Icebay of Forochel (the name Forochel means 'northern ice'), which extended far into the coldest regions of the north of Arda. To the north and west, the bay was sheltered from the Sea by the curve of the Cape of Forochel.

Despite its freezing climate, tribes of Men lived around the shores of the Icebay. Far back in the Elder Days, these were the people known as the Forodwaith, but by the Third Age, their descendants - the Lossoth - occupied the northern wastes in their place. Their main settlements were along the sheltered Cape, but they wandered far and wide around the Icebay, even venturing as far as the Icebay's southern coasts.


Notes

1

Only a small southern section of the Icebay of Forochel appears on the maps accompanying The Lord of the Rings, and in later editions the bay is labelled with an arrow indicating that it extends farther to the north. The draft maps in volume VII of The History of Middle-earth extend further northward than the published maps, and show the Icebay in its entirety. The northern parts of the map shown here are adapted from that source.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 26 February 2022
  • This entry is complete

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