Mountains of Shadow

Mordor
Flag displaying the Red Eye of Sauron (based on a design by Tolkien)
J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium location
Other name(s)	Land of Shadow, Black Land, Nameless Land
Type	Realm and base of operations of Sauron.
Ruler	Sauron (later ruled by his freed slaves)
Notable locations	Barad-dûr (the Dark Tower), Mount Doom, the Ash Mountains, the Mountains of Shadow, the Black Gate, Cirith Ungol, Gorgoroth, the Sea of Nurnen, Udûn
First appearance	The Lord of the Rings also appears in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle-earth
Location	East of Gondor
Lifespan	Second Age – Fourth Age
Founder	Sauron
Capital	Barad-dûr

In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced [ˈmɔrdɔr]; from Sindarin Black Land and Quenya Land of Shadow) was the region occupied and controlled by Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the goal of the Fellowship of the Ring (and later Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee) in the quest to destroy the One Ring.

Mordor has three enormous mountain ranges surrounding it, from the north, from the west and from the south. The mountains both protected the land from an unexpected invasion by any of the people living in those directions and kept those living in Mordor from escaping. Tolkien was reported to have identified Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli off Sicily, in terms of geographic equivalency with the real world.

Three sides of Mordor were bounded by mountain ranges, arranged in a rough rectangle: the Ered Lithui (translated as 'Ash Mountains') on the north, and the Ephel Dúath (literally, "Fence of Shadow") on the west and the south. In the northwest the pass of Cirith Gorgor led into the enclosed plain of Udûn. Sauron built the Black Gate of Mordor (the Morannon) across the pass, joining the Towers of the Teeth, two earlier guard towers built by Gondor to keep a watch on this entrance. The passage through the inner side of Udûn into the interior of Mordor was guarded by another gate, the Isenmouthe. Outside the Morannon lay the Dagorlad or Battle Plain.