Difference between revisions of "Known world"

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Jump to: navigation, search
(Ulthos)
Line 25: Line 25:
  
 
===Ulthos===
 
===Ulthos===
 +
:{{Main|Ulthos}}
 
[[Ulthos]] is a large landmass located to the southeast of Essos, across the [[Saffron Straits]] from the [[Shadow Lands]]. It may or may not be a continent, and its size is still unknown, as it is located on the edge of the Known World.<ref>Not A Blog: [http://grrm.livejournal.com/299668.html?thread=16855188#t16855188 Winter is Coming... (November 15, 2012)]</ref>
 
[[Ulthos]] is a large landmass located to the southeast of Essos, across the [[Saffron Straits]] from the [[Shadow Lands]]. It may or may not be a continent, and its size is still unknown, as it is located on the edge of the Known World.<ref>Not A Blog: [http://grrm.livejournal.com/299668.html?thread=16855188#t16855188 Winter is Coming... (November 15, 2012)]</ref>
  

Revision as of 18:51, 29 January 2016

Map of the known world based on The Lands of Ice and Fire.

The known world[1][2] is composed of at least three continents (Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos), a large landmass (Ulthos), and a number of many smaller islands.[3] None of the four major landmasses have been completely mapped.[3] The known world is part of a round planet, which might be a little larger than Earth.[4] There might still be smallfolk who believe the world to be flat.[5]

The Known World

Westeros

Location of Westeros within the known world.

Located in the far west of the known world, the continent of Westeros is long and relatively narrow, extending from Dorne in the south to the Lands of Always Winter in the far north. The Wall, the border between the Seven Kingdoms and the lands Beyond the Wall, is three hundred miles long,[6] indicating that Westeros is roughly nine hundred miles at its widest point, east to west. North of the Wall, a large amount of land remains uncharted.

Westeros contains the Seven Kingdoms south of the Wall, and the Lands of Always Winter and Beyond the Wall to the north. The Seven Kingdoms, unified under Targaryen rule, are made up out of nine regions (the North, the riverlands, the Iron Islands, the Vale, the Crownlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne).[3][7] Bordering on Westeros, lie the Sunset Sea (to the south), the narrow sea (to the east, southern half), and the Shivering Sea (to the east, northern half).[7][8]

Essos

Location of Essos west of the Bone Mountains within the known world.

Separated from Westeros by the narrow sea, Essos extends eastwards for many thousands of miles. It is larger than Westeros but less densely populated. The western edge of the continent is controlled by the nine Free Cities, while the city-states of Slaver's Bay are located in the south-central region. Much of the continental interior, known as the Dothraki sea, is grassland ruled by the tribal warriors known as the Dothraki. Further east is Qarth and the fabled Jade Sea. The mapped lands of Essos are divided by the Bone Mountains and the Krazaaj Zasqa, which run from the Shivering Sea in the north to the Jade Gates in the south. East of the Bone Mountains are the Plains of the Jogos Nhai, Yi Ti, the Grey Waste, Mossovy, and the legendary Asshai in the foreboding Shadow Lands.[3]

Sothoryos

Location of Sothoros within the known world.

Sothoryos, also written as Sothoros, is located south of Essos, on the far side of the Summer Sea. It is a large continent consisting of deserts and jungles. It is said to be a haven for plagues and dangerous animals, and has not been explored much beyond the northern coastal regions. Just north of Sothoryos are the Basilisk Isles.[citation needed]

Ulthos

Ulthos is a large landmass located to the southeast of Essos, across the Saffron Straits from the Shadow Lands. It may or may not be a continent, and its size is still unknown, as it is located on the edge of the Known World.[9]

Islands

The largest island in the Known World is Great Moraq, located between the Summer Sea and the Jade Sea to the south of Qarth. The second largest appears to be Ib in the Shivering Sea north of the Kingdoms of the Ifeqevron, followed by the largest of the Summer Isles, Jhala.[3] See also various other islands.

Seas

The largest seas appear to be the Shivering Sea, north of Essos, and the Sunset Sea, west of Westeros. The Summer Sea and Jade Sea lie between Essos and Sothoryos, and the narrow sea separates Westeros from Essos.[3]

Other lands

Lord Gylbert Farwynd of the Lonely Light, the island farthest west of the Known World, speaks of lands farther to the west, across the Sunset Sea. According to him, this land has no winter and no death. These claims are not treated seriously.[10]

King Brandon Stark the Shipwright attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, but never returned.[11]

See also

References and Notes