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Mount Doom, also known as Orodruin and Amon Amarth, was a volcano in Mordor where the One Ring was forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, and accordingly the only place in which it could be destroyed. It was the ultimate destination of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in the Quest of the Ring at the end of the Third Age.

History[]

Mount Doom was the result of works of the first Dark Lord, Melkor, in the First Age.[1]

In the Second Age, Sauron chose the land of Mordor as his dwelling-place. He used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging. Around SA 1600, Sauron forged the One Ring in the depths of the Cracks of Doom, which was built within Mount Doom itself. In SA 3429, Mount Doom erupted, signaling Sauron's attack on Gondor, where it earned its name "Amon Amarth."[2][3][4]

Mount doom

After the War of the Last Alliance and Sauron's disappearance, the mountain slept[5], and only sprung into life in TA 2954, after Sauron's return to Mordor.

On March 25, TA 3019, Frodo and Sam ascended the slopes of Mount Doom, and entered Sammath Naur. Gollum had ascended as well, at a distance from them.

With the ensuing destruction of the One Ring, Mount Doom erupted with great force, sending massive lava floes down its sides and scattering the area with volcanic debris. The cone of the volcano was ripped apart by the eruption, and the Nazgûl and their mounts were destroyed in the ejection of lava as they tried to reach Frodo to reclaim the Ring.[5]

Description[]

Location of Mount Doom

Mount Doom, marked in red, as seen in The Battle for Middle-earth II

Mount Doom was located on the Plateau of Gorgoroth in northwestern Mordor. It stood about 4,500 feet with its base about 3,000 feet tall.[2] It was connected to Barad-dûr through the steaming fissures of Sauron's Road.

In The Atlas of Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad, who published her work before the completion of The History of Middle-earth, it is suggested that the Mount Doom and all of Mordor formed as a result of a tectonic uplift, draining the Sea of Helcar in the Belegaer, caused by the cataclysms of the War of Wrath.[6] However, this hypothesis is negated in the 12th volume of The History of Middle-earth, The Peoples of Middle-earth, where is stated that the mountain had already been created by Melkor in the First Age.[1]

Etymology[]

Orodruin was the common Sindarin name for Mount Doom. It means "Fire Mountain", from orod ("mountain") and ruin ("burning, fiery red"). However, the literal Sindarin translation for Mount Doom is Amon Amarth, from amon ("hill, mountain") and amarth ("doom, fate").[7][8] It is possible that "Doom" is a mis-anglicization of "Dun", an old-English and possibly Rohanese term for "mountain".

Gallery[]

Mount Doom
Map of Mount Doom, as seen in The Atlas of Middle-earth
Mordor's DuoSpire
Mount Doom standing near Barad-dûr

Portrayal in adaptations[]

Rankin-Bass Mount Doom

Mount Doom as depicted in the 1980 film

Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King[]

In The Return of the King film created by Rankin/Bass, Mount Doom is depicted as a slender composite volcano. The slopes of Mount Doom have a jagged, rocky landscape with ash channels. The Sammath Naur is shown as a small iron door way into a tunnel that leads to a open cavern with a lava pit in the center of it.

Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy[]

In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, the New Zealand volcano Mount Ngauruhoe was used as Mount Doom in some scenes. In long shots, the mountain is either a large model or a CGI effect or a combination. Filming the summit of Ngauruhoe itself was not permitted because it is sacred to the Māori of the region. However, some scenes on the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the actual slopes of Mount Ruapehu.[9]

On November 22, 2012, it was incorrectly reported by media outside New Zealand that "Mount Doom" Ngauruhoe had erupted. The reported eruption was actually from nearby Mount Tongariro, not Mount Ngauruhoe.

Orodruin eruption - TRoP

Orodruin erupting for the first time in many years, in The Rings of Power

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power[]

In the alternate continuity of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the mountain, called Orodruin, has been dormant for many years during Sauron's seeming disappearance. The dark Elf Adar, seeking to create a home for the Orcs where they need not fear the sunlight, executes a plan that channels a vast amount of water into tunnels dug into the mountain's base, causing an enormous eruption.

This is contrary to the original cause of Mordor's desolation, described by Christopher Tolkien as a result "of the devastating work of Melkor" in the First Age.[10]

The Lord of the Rings Online[]

The Lord of the Rings Online - Mount Doom

Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings Online

In The Lord of the Rings Online, the eruption of Mount Doom has spilled mostly onto the southern side, creating a large lake of burning fire on the plain below. The northern slope has been affected as well, with massive fissures and cracks opening all over the landscape. The ruins of Barad-dûr in particular have been enveloped by a river of lava. Elsewhere in Mordor the eruption has left its marks as well; in the south, between the Ephel Dúath and the Morgai, the groundwaters have been released by the shaking of the earth, flooding the valley and transforming it into a rotting swamp.

Real world[]

Ngauruhoe-Doom

Mount Ngauruhoe

The International Astronomical Union names all mountains on Saturn's moon Titan after mountains in J.R.R. Tolkien's work. In 2012, they named a Titanian mountain "Doom Mons" after Mount Doom.

The Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth is named after the Sindarin translation for Mount Doom.

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Afrikaans Berg Straf
Albanian Mali Dënim
Amharic የጥፋት ተራራ
Arabic جبل الهلاك
Armenian Ճակատագրական լեռ (Mount Doom) Օրոդրուին (Orodruin)
Azerbaijani Dağ əcəl
Basque Mendiaren Infernura
Bengali সর্বনাশের পাহাড়
Bosnian Planina Propasti
Bulgarian Cyrillic Връх съдбата (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin)
Burmese ပျက်စီးခြင်း၏တောင်
Cambodian សភ្នំវិនាស
Catalan Muntanya del Destí
Chichewa Phiri Chilango
Chinese (Hong Kong) 末日火山 (Mount Doom) 歐洛都因 (Orodruin)
Cornish Menedh Terros ?
Corsican Muntagna Andantino
Croatian Kleta Gora
Czech Hora osudu
Danish Dommedagsbjerget
Dutch Doemberg
Esperanto Fatalo-Monto
Estonian Turmamägi
Filipino Bundok ng Lagim
Finnish Tuomiovuori
French Montagne du Destin (first translation) Mont Destin (second translation)
Frisian Doemspjalten (Western)
Galician Monte do Destino
Georgian ბედისწერის მთა (Mount Doom) ოროდრუინი (Orodruin)
German Schicksalsberg
Greek Όρος μοίρα
Gujarati મપ્રારબ્ધનો પહાડ
Haiti Creole Mòn Fayit
Hebrew (Orodruin) אורודרואין (Mount Doom) הר האבדון
Hindi माउंट कयामत
Hungarian A Végzet Hegye
Icelandic Dómsfjall
Indonesian Gunung Azab
Italian Monte Fato
Japanese 滅びの山 (Mount Doom) オロドルイン (Orodruin)
Javanese Gunung Siksa
Kannada ಮೌವಿನಾಶದ ಪರ್ವತ
Kazakh Қиямет тауы (Cyrillic) Qïyamet tawı (Latin)
Korean 마운트 운명
Kurdish Çiyayê Qiyamet (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic Кыямат тоосу
Latin Montis Fati
Latvian Kalns Liktenis
Lithuanian Lemties kalne
Luxembourgish Montéierung
Macedonian Cyrillic Планината на судбината
Malagasy Tendrombohitra Loza
Malayalam വിധി കൊടുമുടി
Maltese Impunjazzjoni kundanna
Malaysian Gunung Azab
Marathi नाशाचा डोंगर
Mongolian Cyrillic Мөхлийн уул
Nepalese मविनाशको पहाड
Norwegian Dommedagsberget
Occitan Mont del Destin
Pashto د عذاب غر
Persian کوه هلاکت
Polish Góra Przeznaczenia
Portuguese Montanha da Perdição (Brazil)

Monte da Condenação or Montanha de Fogo Portuguese (Portugal)

Punjabi ਤਬਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਪਹਾੜ
Romanian Muntele Osândei
Romansh Destin Muntogna ?
Russian Роковая Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin)
Serbian Планина Усуда (Cyrillic) Planina Usuda (Latin)
Sindhi عذاب ٿي ويھو
Sinhalese විනාශයේ කන්ද
Slovak Hora Osudu
Slovenian Gori Pogube
Somali Buur Cadaab
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) Monte del Destino
Swahili Adhabu ya Mlima
Swedish Domedagsberget
Tajik Cyrillic Кӯҳи ҳалокат
Tamil அழிவின் மலை
Telugu డూమ్ పర్వతం
Thai ภูมฤตยู
Turkish Hüküm Dağı
Turkmen Heläkçilik Dagy
Ukrainian Cyrillic Вогняна Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруїн (Orodruin)
Urdu عذاب کا پہاڑ
Uzbek Қиёмат тоғи (Cyrillic) Qiyomat tog'i (Latin)
Vietnamese Núi Diệt Vong
Yiddish באַרג פאַרמישפּעטן
Zazaki Koyê Hukımi
Places of Middle-earth and Arda

Middle-earth Locations:

Provinces/Regions:

Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire

Forests & Mountains:

Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill

City/Fortifications:

Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno

Miscellaneous:

Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens

The rest of Arda:

Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII The Peoples of Middle-earth, ch. XIII: Last Writings
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Mount Doom"
  3. The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
  4. The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (i): "Númenor"
  5. 5.0 5.1 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter III: "Mount Doom"
  6. The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Second Age, "Introduction"
  7. Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
  8. Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, Mordor
  9. Brian Sibley, The Making of the Movie Trilogy The Lord of the RingsHoughton Mifflin (2002)
  10. The Peoples of Middle-earth, pg. 390
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