[Child of the 7th Age]

Pio -

Sounds good. I am not a World Cup fan myself but understand it can be quite addictive!

When you do go online tomorrow, could I borrow your knowledge of geography and maps, which has to be better than mine? Am I right in assuming that most of the plantations were in south Núrn near the Sea? Yes, I know it's salt water and not a real source of irrigation, but somehow I pictured them down there. What would be a reasonable direction for the refugees to go if they were aiming for a part of Mordor that would have fewer inhabitants and yet a location where the land would still be arable if proper measures are taken re water conservation, etc. ? My first thought was slightly north.

Would the southern fringes of the Plain of Gorgoroth be arable (the part that is slightly above where the mountains curve in--see pages 92-93 of Fonstad)? This is about 175 miles south of Mount Doom, I think. I have no personal knowledge of volcanos (unlike hurricanes), but from reading about St. Helen's it looks like the worst ash flow extended about 20 miles out from the mountain, the mudflows went out about 35 miles, and major damage was recorded in the rivers as far as 75 miles away. Presumably, Mount Doom is still giving off an occasional puff by the 6th year, 4th Age but nothing worse than that (much like St. Helen's in the 1980s when the dome began to reform).

I am assuming that, once Sauron died, there was a slight improvement in the climate (just as is described with the Shire) and rainfall would have been slightly more plentiful. From what I've read, ash and soot is actually not a bad thing for agriculture since it helps to conserve water.

Is this a realistic location for the new village, or would another work better?

You don't by any chance know of an online map of Mordor/Núrn?

Durelin,

The list looks great! Let me eyeball it further and give my reaction and any ideas later tonight.