Dates

Occupied by the Men of the Mountains during the Second Age; part of Gondor through the Third Age and into the Fourth

Location

The valley of the river Morthond, which flowed out from the southern side of the White Mountains above Erech

Race

Culture

Settlements

Erech stood near the head of the valley; Morthond flowed into the Great Sea near Edhellond

Source

Morthond rose in the White Mountains beneath the Dwimorberg, northward of Erech

Tributaries

Morthond joined with Ringló near its mouth

Outflow

Important peaks

The source of the Morthond lay beneath the Dwimorberg; the Hill of Erech stood within the northern Vale

Passes

The valley ran southward from the southern opening of the Paths of the Dead

Pronunciation

Morthond is pronounced 'mo'rthond'

Meaning

Morthond means 'Blackroot' (so named because its sources lay in the shadow of the White Mountains, and was asssociated with the Paths of the Dead)

Other names

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Morthond Vale

The valley of the Blackroot

A wide, green and fertile valley in the southern White Mountains, carved out by the River Morthond, or Blackroot, on its way southward to meet the Sea. Lying directly to the west of Lamedon, the Morthond Vale was a populous area owing allegiance to Gondor, whose lord at the end of the Third Age was Duinhir. As rich as the vale's grasslands were, its people avoided its upper slopes, where the Morthond sprang from the Mountains near the Hill of Erech. There, the Shadow-men were said to gather, the cursed Dead that haunted the dark paths beneath the Mountains. During the War of the Ring, Aragorn emerged from the Paths of the Dead at the head of the valley, and led the Dead Men off into the eastern War, at last leaving the Morthond Vale free of the fear of the Shadow Host.