I see Middle-earth

[Morthoron]

Well, I live in Michigan. I know what you're saying: "Morth, what does Michigan have to do with Middle-earth (save for Detroit being the quintessential real-world epitome of Angband)?"

Actually, if you divorce yourself from the Mordor-like industrial mega-complex of southeast Michigan, the rest of the state is quite pastoral. For the geographically disinclined, the state of Michigan is broken up into two penninsulas, both surrounded by the Great Lakes (which would be freshwater 'seas' anywhere else in the world). If one goes to the Upper Penninsula, there is a bit of Middle-earth in a place called Tahquamenon (mentioned in Longfellow's epic poem 'Hiawatha'), and more specifically the Falls...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:T...non_Falls1.JPG

The water of the falls is stained brown from the amount of tannin from oak leaves (so it is rather like tea). The falls froths white at the bottom, so one gets the visual effect of the gods pouring root beer. It puts me in mind of the Baranduin (or Brandywine) River, which I'd always assumed was like in coloration (Baranduin was Sindarin for "golden-brown river").

In winter:
http://www.exploringthenorth.com/tahqua/falls4a.gif

The 'Brandywine' color:
http://www.superiorsights.com/pictur...s/21010023.jpg