The North (A Song of Ice and Fire)

The Known World
"A Map of The Known World" by George R. R. Martin
A Song of Ice and Fire location
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Genre	Novel/Television
Type	Fantasy world
Notable locations	Westeros Essos Sothoryos Ulthos
Notable characters	First Men Andals Children of The Forest Giants White Walkers

Westeros
A map of the Westeros continent
A Song of Ice and Fire location
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Genre	High fantasy
Type	Continent
Notable locations	King's Landing, Seven Kingdoms
Notable characters	Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen, Eddard Stark, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Arya Stark, Bran Stark, Cersei Lannister, Jaime Lannister, Theon Greyjoy
First appearance	A Game of Thrones

The fictional world in which the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin take place is divided into several continents. Most of the story takes place on the continent Westeros, in a large political entity known as the Seven Kingdoms. It actually consists of nine regions (the North, the Iron Islands, the Riverlands, the Vale, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, the Crownlands, and Dorne) and a largely unmapped area to the north, separated by a massive wall of ice and old magic. The vast continent of Essos lies to the east of Westeros, across the Narrow Sea. The closest foreign nations to Westeros are the Free Cities, a collection of independent city-states along the western edge of this eastern continent. The lands along the southern coastline of the eastern continent, collectively called the Lands of the Summer Sea, include Slavers Bay and the ruins of Valyria, the former home of Westeros' Targaryen kings. To the south of Essos lie the continents of Sothoryos and Ulthos, which in the narrative are largely unexplored.

George R. R. Martin set the Ice and Fire story in an alternative world of Earth, a "secondary world", such as J. R. R. Tolkien pioneered with Middle-earth. The Ice and Fire narrative can be considered to be set in a post-magic world where people no longer believe in supernatural things such as the Others, and while the characters understand the natural aspects of their world, they cannot comprehend its magical elements. Religion, though, has a significant role in the life of people with the characters practising many different religions.

The story takes place primarily on a continent called Westeros, which is roughly the size of South America. The continent is home to the Seven Kingdoms and lands beyond the great Wall, which makes up a large chunk of Westeros, being roughly the size of Canada, with most of it largely unmapped and unexplored. Westeros is at the mercy of erratic seasons of unpredictable duration that last for many years. At the beginning of A Song of Ice and Fire the continent has enjoyed a decade-long summer, and many fear that an equally long and harsh winter will follow.