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Post by branwyn on Nov 19, 2006 14:11:28 GMT
The Atlas of Middle Earth shows that most of the prevailing winds are west to east; however, there is an arrow indicating a draft from Mordor toward Gondor. My question is: could ash from Mordor be carried all the way to Minas Tirith? I have heard of Saharan sand being blown amazingly long distances, so I was wondering about this.
Thanks for any help!
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Post by lindahoyland on Nov 19, 2006 20:00:38 GMT
Although Tolkien doesn't say, I always imagine that it would have done and have read fanfics,such as "Avoidance" which portray this happening.I have seen sand from the Sahara, blown here to Northern England !
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Post by Raksha on Nov 19, 2006 21:51:33 GMT
I think ash could definitely fall as far away as Minas Tirith, if/when Orodruin let off steam, had an eruption, prior to the big bang at Sauron's fall. I think MT probably had to cope with a lot of grey, ashy skies, though not as thick as to prevent any solar penetration, they had agriculture on the Pelennor "townlands"...
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Post by branwyn on Nov 20, 2006 21:50:51 GMT
Thanks, Raksha and Linda!
Branwyn
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StefaniaB
Short story writer
Belly Dancin' Gondor Babe
Posts: 113
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Post by StefaniaB on Dec 5, 2006 1:15:33 GMT
Sorry to get here so late, especially since "Avoidance" was mentioned. Pollution from Mordor would mostly travel West, creating some pretty nasty air in Rhun. But occasionally it would float eastward, IMHO.
Volcanic ash travels at great distances. I remember seeing a show on PBS that said the Dark Ages actually began in, well, dimness, when the parent volcano of Krakatoa in south east Asia blew its top around 550 AD or so. The ash cloud actually changed the temperature of the Earth in those years. Summer never happened in Europe. The sun's rays were dimmed when they penetrated that cloud. Al this from a megavolcano that erupted on the other side of the world.
I based my tale of Mount Doom's destruction in "Avoidance" to the explosion of the mountain (Mt. Ketama, IIRC)that created Crater Lake in Oregon, USA. Debris from the Crater Lake explosion covered the area of what is now modern day Oregon for a hundred miles and more. The mountain literally blew its top. And then there's the Mount St. Helens eruption 25 years ago, which, IIRC, lowered the temperatures in the Northern hemisphere a couple of degrees in the year following the event.
It's my thought that pollution from Mordor could occasionally cover Minas Tirith. Mostly it would be from volcanic incidents. Volcanoes really affect the weather. Just ask the people of the Big Island of Hawaii, who have been living with a constantly erupting volcano since around 1982.
- Steff
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