Middle Earth

Middle-Earth is the setting where the events of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion take place in (chronologically, Silmarillion -> The Hobbit -> LotR). The geography changes significantly from its creation to the Third Age when the story takes place, though this article will mostly cover how it is during the books. For a (mostly) comprehensive list of the characters that inhabit Middle-Earth, see here.

Not to be confused with New Zealand, though the country has rebranded itself as the real Middle Earth.

General clarification

The known regions of Middle-Earth

Middle-Earth is not the name of The World of the Tolkien's mythos, the term for that would technically be Arda. Middle-Earth refers to the general landmass where the events of the books take place (hilariously enough, another name for Middle-Earth used by the elves was Endor, possibly a subtle reference by George Lucas). At the same time Arda is not an alien planet or alternate universe but rather a lost era of our world with Middle Earth being roughly where Europe was (and yes, that does mean that there are analogous to the Americas, Africa and Asia in Lord of the Rings). This is in its own way quite sad when you think about it since it would mean that after the events of the books where our heroes sail off to Valinor all the cultures of Gondor, Rohan, Dale/Laketown and so forth that our heroes have fought to save in various ways gradually falter and fail totally, leaving only cave men. An major driving element of the mythos is that the magic of the world is gradually winding down. However, the books do say that the line of Finwë (the ancestor of Elrond and Aragorn) will always endure, so their descendants would still be alive today.

Arda used to be a flat world until the later 2nd Age with the destruction of Númenor and "the bending of the roads". Said event also turned a flying sailing ship into Venus.

Regions

Eriador

Located in the northwest, Eriador is generally remote and isolated from most of the goings-on of Middle-Earth. It was once home to the human kingdom of Arnor and the Elven kingdom of Eregion, but both collapsed by the time The Hobbit takes place and the Grey Havens was the last remnant of the Elven Kingdom of Lindon. What's left is a mostly depopulated and rustic region. Typically, the only travelers to the region are Dwarves on their way to the Blue Mountains, or Elves going to the Grey Havens. Besides subsistence agriculture, there's only one major industry that the area's known for - pipeweed. Despite the plant being used by Númenóreans as a fragrant ornamental plant, it wasn't until the hobbits started smoking and cultivating it that it became the commercial crop that its known as.

• The Shire - Here be Hobbits. Described as being geographically and ecologically similar to England, it is a peaceful rural country divided into the four farthings, with a recently colonized fifth called Buckland. It's capital and largest town is Michel Delving to the East, far from Bree. At the center is Hobbiton, where the Baggins family is from.
• Old Forest - One of two remnants of a primeval forest. Its trees are sentient and full of malice, and will try to direct all trespassers to Old Man Willow. However, Tom Bombadil and his wife also live here, and will guide travelers to safety.
• Barrow-Downs - A series of burial mounds and tombs within the former kingdom of Cardolan which also held a great number of the dead kings and nobles of old Arnor. It has since become haunted after the Witch-King of Angmar sent evil spirits to inhabit the dead bodies, creating the Barrow-Wights.
• Bree - A small settlement surrounded by a few satellite hamlets populated by men and hobbits living together in harmony, and one of the few settled towns in the region. Few people stray far from the surrounding countryside, as its very near to the Barrow-Downs.
• Amon Sûl - Known by locals as Weathertop. A ruined watchtower where Frodo got stabbed by the Nazgûl.
• Arnor - The other Kingdom of the Dúnedain. Used to encompass pretty much the entirety of Eriador. It fell to ruin centuries before the events of the book due to civil strife and the Witch-King of Angmar fighting a long war against it. Aragorn, due to being the direct descendant of Elendil, is technically the King of Arnor, although he doesn't reign over it until he is crowned king at the end of the trilogy, where he also unifies Arnor and Gondor.
• Fornost - Also known as Norbury of the Kings, former capital of Arnor, now just a pile of ruins known as Deadman's Dike. The Greenway used to connect Fornost to Gondor, passing through Bree before connecting the Great Western Road at Isen.
• Rivendell - Imladris in Sindarin. It is a small town hidden in a valley within the Misty Mountains and is populated by elves belonging to the House of Elrond.
• Grey Havens - The Westernmost part of Middle Earth, and the last remnant of the Elven kingdom of Lindon. At this harbor, elves leave for the Undying Lands, abandoned after the last Elves departed around the year 120 of the Fourth Age.
• Eregion - Destroyed realm just west of Moria that was one of the two remaining High Elven Kingdoms in Middle-Earth (the other being Lindon). The Rings of Power were made here.
• Forodwaith and Forochel - Technically not part of Eriador, Forodwaith is the northernmost part of Middle-Earth. The foul magic Morgoth used in the prehistorical Valian Years to build the demonic fortress of Utumno is still radiating from its ruins, trapping the land in eternal winter. The only living inhabitants of Forodwaith are Cold-drakes and whatever remaining Dragons are left. Forochel lies north of Angmar and Arnor, being the only known inhabited region of this arctic wasteland. Forochel's inhabitants are mainly the Lossoth, a hardy tribe of Inuit-look-alikes who live around the Cape of Forochel. The last reigning King of Arnor died here, after a rescue party sent by the Elves of Lindon failed to save him.
  • Utumno - Located somewhere far, far in the polar north of Middle Earth, Utumno was built in in prehistory by Morgoth, and was the mightiest and most terrible dark fortress ever created, dwarfing its better known successor stronghold of Angband; which served as merely an outlying armory to this beast of a dungeon to put things in perspective. How bad was this place? Its alternative Sindarin name Udûn can translate as Hell. Which is fitting, as this hellhole is where Morgoth created the first Orcs, alongside many of his other monstrous mockeries of Creation. Utumno was thankfully destroyed by the Valar, who destroyed it to such an extent that they "unroofed" it. Not even fantasy-Satan's ultimate Hell dungeon of a 40-man raid could even slightly slow a mere 14 of God's chosen Archangels apparently. The only traces left of Utumno are its ruins, which still curse the world with its unnatural cold. As the ruins are just merely ruins and in one of the most isolated corners of Middle Earth, the ruins of Utumno are merely a historical footnote, rather than a place of relevance, ironic for the "mightiest fortress ever created".

Rohan

The kingdom of the Horse Lords, Rohan is a wide open plain that was gifted to the Rohirrim by Gondor. To the west is the Gap of Rohan where Isengard is located, and where Dunland lies just beyond.

• Edoras - Capital city of Rohan. The Golden Hall Meduseld stands at the apex of the hill that Edoras is built on.
• Helm's Deep - Rohan's main fortress, built into the White Mountains by the legendary Rohirric King Helm Hammerhand. The castle keep; the Hornburg; was originally built by Gondor to keep watch over the southern half of the river Isen, to match its northern counterpart of Isengard. Its keep leads into a cave system into the mountains, and is defended by a long wall.
• Dunharrow - A refuge in the White Mountains where the Rohirrim mustered for the Battle of Pelennor Fields. The valley behind it leads directly to a haunted region known as the Paths of the Dead, where the traitorous Oathbreakers of the White Mountains linger in undeath.
  • Paths of the Dead: A narrow valley that was once populated by a tribe of people closely related to the Dunlanders who worked as mercenaries for Sauron and Gondor at various points in time. When the War of the Last Alliance began in earnest, these people were enlisted by Isildur, but, having no hope of winning against Sauron, broke the Oath they made to Isildur, who in turn cursed them to linger as ghosts as long as one of his heirs would demand their allegiance again. Several Rohihirrim Kings and princes travelled here to prove their bravery, but none ever returned. The Way is shut.
• Fangorn Forest - The other remnant of the primeval forest. This one is populated by the Huorns, trees capable of movement, and the Ents, the tree-herders. Huorns are either Ents who stood still a bit too long, losing some sapience and becoming feral, or possibly sufficiently old trees that graduated to Huorn-hood.
• Isengard - A fortress on Rohan's western border that watches the river Isen (hence the name). In the center is the tall black tower of Orthanc, which had been built by the Númenóreans during the Second Age and was made of a type of black stone that was virtually indestructible. Saruman was using it as a base of operations as he plotted his betrayal.
• Dunland - Just west-northwest of Rohan proper, Dunland was populated by primitive tribesmen, known as Dunlendings or Wildmen, who were often at war with Rohan. They coveted the lands of Rohan, as they were the original native inhabitants of it before the Rohirrim came. They allied with Saruman in his war against Rohan, but they were granted clemency after Saruman's defeat.

Gondor

The main human kingdom of the setting; Gondor was once a mighty kingdom that is now failing, having endured centuries of political strife and decay. The last king has long ago disappeared with no heir, leaving it under the rule of the house of Stewards. It has become increasingly militarized to deal with threats from the East, at the expense of its former cultural and intellectual advances. Gondor used to stretch all the way east to the Sea of Rhun and South to Harad, but they have since been beaten back and lost the eastern side of the Anduin river, where Ithilien and Minas Ithil were located.

• Minas Tirith - Formerly Minas Anor. The current capital of Gondor, this city is built into the White Mountains and is built around seven concentric circles with seven gates. Minas Tirith is extremely well fortified, but that didn't stop the armies of Mordor from nearly taking it in an enormous siege.
• Osgiliath - The former capital of Gondor. It straddled the Anduin river, but was abandoned due to plague and became a contested region when Mordor conquered Ithilien, as Osgiliath is the only point for hundreds of miles around where large armies can cross the Anduin in force.
• Dol Amroth - A principality of Gondor, from where Imrahil and his Swan Knights come from. Formerly an Elven Kingdom that existed concurrently with Gondor, but was subsumed by Gondor when the last of its elvish inhabitants sailed West. The princes retain elvish ancestry and customs from Dol Amroth's past.
• Pelargir - One of the first settlements of Gondor and its biggest port city. Came under attack by Umbar during the War of the Ring.
• Ithilien - The easternmost province of Gondor, right up against the mountains on Mordor's western edge. Ithilien was abandoned when Sauron returned to Mordor, but the Rangers of Gondor maintained a presence through secret camps to harass any invading armies.
• Lossarnach - Another principality of Gondor, the description of the land itself and its people make it sound a lot like Scotland.
• Anórien - Land just northwest of Minas Tirith and directly under its jurisdiction. Also houses a thick forest where a tribe of forest dwelling humans reside that help the Rohirrim to get to Minas Tirith faster during the War of the Ring.

Misty Mountains

A long mountain range that runs North-South. It represents a major obstacle as only a few safe passages exist. Various kingdoms have also been set up here as well.

• Pass of Caradhras - A treacherous mountain pass and the second largest road that crosses the Misty Mountains. Because of its inherent dangerousness, Orcs tended to avoid it, hence why it was the route the Fellowship attempted to take first, but they were waylaid by Wargs, blizzards, and avalanches, thus causing them to try for...
• Moria - Formerly Khazad-Dûm, the greatest Dwarven city in Middle-Earth. It was the sole source of Mithril, but the city was destroyed when the Dwarves accidentally awoke the Balrog known as Durin's Bane. It has since been taken over by Orcs.
• Goblin-Town - A Goblin settlement situated on the High Pass. Gollum lived in the deepest part of the cave with the One Ring until he was found by Bilbo.
• Angmar - A kingdom of Wicked Men and Orcs that was ruled by the chief of the Nazgûl who would become known as the Witch-King of Angmar. Angmar lay west of of Mount Gundabad and North of Eriador. Angmar subverted Rhudaur; one of the successor kingdoms of the fractured kingdom of Arnor; and played the other two successor kingdoms against their puppet kingdom. Angmar succeeded in outright destroying the southern successor kingdom of Cardolan and succeeded in wiping out the royal lineage of Arthedain; the last remnant of Arnor. Angmar itself was destroyed alongside Rhudaur when Gondor and the High Elves of the Noldor vanquished its armies and drove the Witch-King back to Mordor.
• Mount Gundabad - The mountain where the first Dwarves awoke, considered a holy site for their race. Later taken over by Orcs in the second and third ages. The antagonistic Orcs of The Hobbit originated from here.
• High Pass - The largest pass over the Misty Mountains, beginning just behind Rivendell in the west and descending into the vales of the Anduin on its eastern side. It was created by the Valar to give the Elves safe passage westwards. In the Third Age, it became very dangerous to cross it due to a major presence of Orcs making its home there.

Rhovanion/Wilderland

The large stretch of land that lies East of the Misty Mountains, and Northeast of Rohan and the River Limlight. Many realms exist here, though they are frequently exposed to attacks from the Easterlings of Rhûn. Rhovanion and Wilderland can used interchangeably to refer to the land, but Rhovanion is typically used to specifically refer to the eastern plains between Mirkwood and the River Running which made up the homelands of the old fallen Kingdom of Rhovanion, but since Rhovanion is simply the Sindarin word for Wilderland, either usage is correct.

• Mirkwood/Greenwood the Great - A massive dark and spooky forest that's become inhospitable due to the corruptions of The Enemy. The Northern part is relatively safer and is part of the Woodland Realm/Eryn Lasgalen, a Sindarin Elf kingdom. The southern part is dominated by Dol Guldur, an ancient fortress controlled by Sauron. Was formerly known as 'Greenwood the Great' before its corruption, and became known as such again after the conclusion of the War of the Ring and the destruction of Dol Guldur.
  • Dol Guldur - Sindarin for Hill of Sorcery, and was Sauron's hideout in the south of Mirkwood under his guise as The Necromancer for much of the Third Age before he openly declared himself in 2951, and his largest base outside of Mordor. Was governed by Khamûl the Black Easterling; second of the Nazgûl; after Sauron's return to Barad-Dûr in the same year, and used by him as a base of operations during the War of the Ring against Lothlórien, Dale, and Erebor.
• The Vales of the Anduin - The valley between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. Here live the Beornings and various minor Woodsmen tribes, though they didn’t have any major settlements and lived in scattered, rustic communities. Life here was practically a horror game, as the Men who lived here not only had to deal with Orcs from both the Mountains and Dol Guldur, but also Giant Spiders, Wargs, Werewolves, Vampires, and even evil spirits summoned by The Necromancer called "Phantoms".
• Lothlórien - A mystical forest realm controlled by Galadriel and her husband Celeborn. At its center is Caras Galadhon, a Sindarin Elf city. All of the houses are built upon the unique Mallorn Trees that originally came from Valinor. As the name suggests, this realm is meant to emulate the heavenly garden of Lórien in Valinor, and its beauty is maintained by the first Elven Ring of Power, Nenya; the Ring of Water.
• Erebor - The Dwarven kingdom located within the Lonely Mountain. Smaug had driven the Dwarves out, but they reclaimed the city after Smaug was killed. While Erebor lacked Moria’s vitally important Mithril deposits, it was very strategically located as it guarded against the frozen North and the lands of the East. Sauron was very keen to retake Erebor, even offering three of the Dwarven rings in his possession for information on the One Ring.
• Dale & Laketown - Dale was a human kingdom allied with Erebor, until it had been destroyed by Smaug. The survivors fled to the lake and built Laketown, which was also destroyed when Smaug re-emerged. The survivors would go on to rebuild Dale and named Bard the Bowman their king for slaying Smaug.
• Amon Hen and the Argonath - Another ancient watchtower, it was here that the Fellowship was broken, and where Boromir was slain by the Uruk-hai of Isengard. The river Anduin flows through and descends down a waterfall into Gondor proper. Used to mark Gondor's northernmost border, but has long since been abandoned. Located near Amon Hen is the Argonath, a FUCKHUEG waterfall flanked by the two giant statues of the first kings of Arnor and Gondor, Isildur and Anárion.
• Emyn Muil - A foggy and craggy land with many hills and gullies where Frodo and Sam got lost, and encountered Gollum.
• Dagorlad - The swamp past Emyn Muil where the Last Alliance fought against Mordor. The fallen soldiers may seem to be somehow preserved in the water, but it is implied to actually be a trick of residual dark magic from Mordor creating ghostly Will-o-Wisp-like apparitions within the waters.
• Dorwinion - The plains between Mirkwood and the Sea of Rhun. It is said that the best wines come from here, and that its people were Northmen descended from the Edain, but we know little else. Likely came under frequent attack from Rhun.

Mordor

One does not simply walk into Mordor. A wasteland where Sauron built his kingdom, defended by three mountain ranges and a generally inhospitable landscape. It does not meet EPA standards.

• Udûn - The valley beyond the Black Gate, where Sauron's armies muster. The Black Gate is the only passage where large armies can pass through. Nearby is Barad-dûr, Sauron's main fortress.
• Gorgoroth - The volcanic plain beneath Mount Doom. Frodo and Sam had to cross this way from Cirith Ungol to reach their goal. Littered with an unholy number of scattered Orc campsites. Home territory of the Great Beasts of Gorgoroth.
• Nurn - The only inhabitable region of Mordor. Nurn is fertilized by Mt. Doom's volcanic ash and the waters from Nurnen, and is used to grow food for Sauron's armies. It was inhabited by human slaves, but Aragorn liberated them and gifted the region to them after Sauron's destruction. Given Sauron's MO it would probably be something to the effect of vast fields scattered with barracks where slaves were kept penned up when they were not working, with Orcish overseers driving them and sending off supplies of maggoty bread to feed the vast armies of Mordor.
• Minas Morgul - Formerly Minas Ithil, it was a city of Gondor until Mordor conquered Ithilien, and has hence become the Nazgul's stronghold. It is a horrifying place of sorcery, which even emits a fell "corpse-light". It was razed by Aragorn after the end of the War of the Ring.
• Cirith Ungol - The only other way into Mordor is up a tall stair across the mountains, and into Shelob's Lair. On the other side is the tower of Cirith Ungol, which is guarded by Orcs. Also a pretty good band.
• Mount Doom - Also known as Orodruin and Amon Amarth (the latter of which is the name of another pretty awesome band), Mount Doom was where the One Ring was forged by Sauron. Essentially, it is a huge volcano, and is connected to Barad-Dûr via road. Mordor is known as the Land of Shadows primarily because of the eruptions of this mountain darkening the skies.
• Barad-Dûr - The Dark Tower, and primary fortress of the Dark Lord Sauron. It is the tallest structure in Middle-Earth until its destruction at the end of the War of the Ring. Typically, it is described as being made of black steel and iron or adamant, but given that its foundations could not be destroyed even after Sauron's defeat at the end of the Second Age, it is likely that it is enchanted or made of some unknown metal.
• The Black Gate/Morannon - A massive wall with three Gates (at least in the books; Peter Jackson's interpretation of it was that the entire wall was one massive iron gate) that Sauron built to guard the largest passage into Mordor proper. Following his first defeat, Gondor claimed it and fortified it further with two large towers, but it fell to ruin during the decline of Gondor's power during the middle years of the Third Age and was retaken by Sauron when he returned to Mordor. It is now his biggest fortress apart from Minas Morgul and Barad-Dûr.
• Durthang - An old Gondorian castle that oversaw the interior of Mordor as opposed to the entrances as with the Morannon and Minas Ithil. Has long since fallen into Sauron's hands.
• Slag Hills - Technically outside of Mordor, not that anyone was keen on taking it from Sauron. Located to the north of the Ash Mountains, it's home to a bunch of industrial waste heaps with toxic pools.

Rhûn

A general name for the East, Rhûn is not covered in much detail. It has many kingdoms and tribes of Wicked Men that have allied themselves with or were subjugated by Sauron and worship him as a god. The Easterling armies fought in the War of the Ring, and even put up a tough fight after Mordor had been defeated at Pelennor Fields. Four of the dwarves clans live in Rhûn, though many escaped west after Sauron’s takeover of the East. Even before the War of the Ring, these assholes were always trying to raid and conquer Gondor and Rhovanion. Extra-canonical adaptations cannot seem to make up their mind as to whether the Easterlings of Rhun are Persian/Asiatic/Mongol-type nomadic peoples or Scythian/Gothic-type barbarians similar to the ones who conquered Rome. Some of the historic peoples of the east include the Wainriders, the Balchoth, and the Swarthy Men of the first age who followed Ulfang the Black.

• Cuiviénen: located on the eastern shore of the Sea of Helcar, this was where the first elves awoke and lived before migrating west towards Aman. Due to the extreme old age of this journey, we’re unsure of where exactly it would be located; Christopher Tolkien himself speculated that the seas of Rhûn and Núrnen might be all that’s left of the Sea of Helcar, indicating that the geography of the East changed dramatically since the elves left. Whether any of the Avari (elves who didn’t migrate west) still live here is unknown, though by this point they’d either be living in hiding or exterminated by Sauron’s allies. Whatever few hiders, assuming any hadn't left already, then went to Aman along with all other elves.
• Hildorien: south of the Red Mountains and Cuiviénen, the homeland of men faced the easternmost sea. Here, Morgoth tricked men into believing that they were made mortal by Ilúvatar as some sort of divine punishment. Those who refused to follow Morgoth became the Edain and were the first to move West, eventually reaching Beleriand. Those who came after became the ancestors of the people of Rhûn and Harad, though some men who were distantly related to the Edain but didn’t enter Beleriand became known as the “Middle Men.”

Harad

The realm south of Gondor; Harad is home to various tribesmen collectively known as Southrons living in the deserts and jungles. According to Tolkein, Harad was inspired by Ethiopia (or more accurately, apocryphal encounters of medieval Europeans with sub-Saharan Africans translated from Old English which use the word Sigelhearwan - because Tolkien), but the New Line films take a more "tribal" Middle-Eastern tract in terms of aesthetics.

• Harondor - The southernmost province of Gondor, arid but still livable, and constantly changed hands between the Wicked Men of the South and Gondor.
• Near Harad - A big desert that runs along Mordor's southern mountain range and stretches south until it meets the completely unlivable Haradwaith.
• Haradwaith - An even larger desert that takes up the central and eastern regions of Harad, a completely desolate and arid wasteland.
• Lostladen - The foothills and wastes located between Near Harad and the Mountains of Shadow which make up Mordor's southern border. Other than it likely being extremely desolate and unlivable, we know nothing about it.
• Far Harad - A jungle far, far, far to the South. This was where the Mûmakil/Oliphaunts came from. Apparently of great size and analogous to sub-Saharan Africa.
• Umbar - A bay that had been settled by the Númenóreans who built a great port town. After the fall of Númenor, the Black Númenóreans of the King's Men claimed Umbar for themselves and remained enemies of Gondor ever since, turning it into a great naval fortress. Over time the original Númenóreans either died out or interbred with the native Southrons. The city became a pirate scourge after traitors who lost the civil war known as the Kin-Strife in Gondor fled to Umbar with a large portion of Gondor's navy, thus creating the Corsairs of Umbar, who mercilessly raided Gondor for the rest of the Third Age.
• Khand - Just East of Harad and South of Mordor. Very little is known about Khand except that it has nomadic horsemen that raided Gondor and is home to Wicked Men known as "Variags".

Beleriand

A former land mass West of Eriador. It was here that the first Elven and human kingdoms were built in the First Age, though they had to contend with many invasions by Morgoth and his allies from the East. Eventually things got so bad that one of the inhabitants, a half-elf named Eärendil, sailed all the way to the Undying Lands and petitioned the Valar to intervene. The resulting battle basically broke Beleriand apart and it sank into the sea; the survivors either moved Eastward, or traveled to the new island of Númenor.

• Gondolin - The biggest and most impressive kingdom of the Noldor Elves. It was hidden deep within the mountains until the city was betrayed by an incestuous elf prick who was jealous that his cousin married a human (No seriously, look it up). The weapons Sting, Orcrist, and Glamdring were forged here.
• Doriath - The kingdom of the Sindarin Elves, ruled by Elu Thingol. The capital, Menegroth, was hidden deep within a large forest and protected by Thingol's demigoddess wife Melian. When Thingol got his hands on a Silmaril, he got the brilliant idea to add it to the most beautiful necklace ever made. The Dwarves of Nogrod did the job, asked for the improved necklace as payment, and killed him after he insulted them, two of the little shits survived the resulting retributive slayings, and returned to Nogrod to spread lies about them being refused payment and slaughtered. Grieving, Melian returned to Aman, and the Dwarves of Nogrod sacked the defenseless, leaderless city, avenging the extermination of the Petty-Dwarves and centuries of insults besides, even though the hypocritical midgets hated the petty-dwarves, having exiled them in the first place, and didn't even give a damn about the Petty-Dwarves being mistaken for animals and hunted by the Sindar. The Dwarves of Nogrod failed to recover the necklace, but the sons of Fëanor had little trouble destroying the much-diminished kingdom afterwards.
• Nargothrond - An underground Noldor Elf kingdom fashioned after Doriath, which allowed the Noldor to fend off invasion from Morgoth's forces - until an arrogant prick named Túrin convinced the Noldor to build a bridge across the Narog river to sally out of, thereby allowing the first ever dragon Glaurung to destroy Nargothrond.
• Angband - Morgoth's fortress to the North. It was described as an impregnable fortress within an inhospitably cold region and guarded by a massive three-peaked mountain. Angband was destroyed along with the rest of Beleriand.
• Minas Tirith - Not to be confused with Gondor's tower. This one was built during the First Age, as a watchtower to guard the river Sirion for any raids and invasions from Angband. It was later taken over and ruled by Sauron for some time and its name thus changed to Tol-in-Gaurhoth (Isle of Werewolves). It changed hands a couple more times and at one point was brought to ruin by Lúthien.
• Ossiriand - A forested region on the east edge of Beleriand, between the Gelion river and the Blue Mountains (Ered Luin, later Ered Lindon). Mostly populated by elves. Beren and Luthien lived on an island here after they were reincarnated. It's questionable whether the land north of the forest, Thargelion, counts as part of Ossiriand or not. Either way, parts of Ossiriand (and Thargelion) survived the destruction of Beleriand and became known as Lindon in later ages, from where the elves would depart back to Aman.

Hithlum

Also called Hísilómë or 'Mist Shadow', it lies to the northwest of Beleriand and is separated from it by the Mountains of Shadow (Ered Wethrin). In the northern area of that mountain chain the river Sirion is born, which passes through Beleriand and divides it in two. It was in that region that the exiled Noldor first arrived from Aman, coming from both the sea and through Helcaraxë. That region is further divided into three areas, thanks to its mountainous landscape: Mithrim; Dor-Lómin; and Nevrast. Like its neighbouring region, it too sank at the ending years of the First Age.

• Vinyamar - The very first stone settlement the Exiled Noldor had made after returning, under the lordship of Turgon. It had been constructed at the very end of the mountain chain (on the slopes of Mount Taras), near the coast. After Turgon had made Gondolin, him and his people (which were composed of both Noldor and Sindar) had abandoned the settlement; and for nearly 4 centuries it had laid desolate, until Tuor had come under the influence of the Vala Ulmo.
• Barad Eithel - The Tower of the Well, was the mountain fortress of the Noldorin High-Kings Fingolfin and his son Fingon. It had been built near the spring of Sirion to guard the river.

Regions that are technically not Middle-Earth, but are important to the story

Aman

Known to mortals as "The Undying Lands," this is where the Valar live, and where elves go when they cross the sea or if they die and are revived but confined to a specific fortress here. Aman used to be connected to Middle Earth via a dangerous ice bridge known as the Helcaraxë, literally "grinding ice." After Númenor attempted to invade Aman (it's considered a big no-no for Mortals to try to enter) Ilúvatar separated Aman from Middle-Earth and turned the formerly flat Arda into a sphere; Elves can still travel there via the "straight road" but cannot return with a singular exception given to Glorfindel who had fallen in battle and went to the resurrected elf-quarantine but was allowed to return so that he could remain until the last Elves departed Middle Earth, and also so that he could give out the Witch-King cannot be killed by a man prophecy and to escort the wounded Frodo to Rivendell. Only a handful of mortals are known to have ever lived in Aman; the ring-bearers Frodo and Bilbo, and possibly Samwise Gamgee (who sailed after his wife's death and leaving the Red Book to his daughter and son-in-law) and Gimli the Dwarf (who went with Legolas after Aragorn died of old age, presumably along with the last lingering Elves including Glorfindel, at year 120 of the Fourth Age). It’s important to remember that Aman itself does not grant immortality, but instead is an unchanging land specifically intended for the immortal Elves, who outside of it, are susceptible to weariness and fading away due to the corruption of the world by Morgoth. As the Elves warned men, even without the Ban of the Valar, they would find that living in Aman would actually decrease their lifespan as they’d find it so unbearably unchanging that they’d wither away (presumably Tuor, and Frodo and friends didn’t have such an experience as they were there mainly to be healed, but they still would have passed on eventually).

• Valinor - The main kingdom of the Valar. Populated primarily by the Vanyar Elves, and was formerly home to the Two Trees of Light.
• Tirion - A large city built by the Noldor Elves in the mountain gap separating Valinor from the sea.
• Tol Eressëa - An island off the cost of Aman that had been used to ferry the Elves across the sea. The Falmari Elves settled down here.
• Lórien: Not to be confused with Galadriel's kingdom Lothlórien; these are the gardens of the Valar tended to by Irmo and his wife Estë, and is a place of healing and rest. Elves and even Men may visit these gardens in their dreams, where they receive prophetic visions.
• Halls of Mandos- The aforementioned revived-elf quarantine place. Only two people were ever allowed to leave, Luthien; when she chose to be human and was granted a resurrection to live with her human love before dying as a human and going to the human afterlife; and Glorfindel on the condition that he return when the last Elves left after Aragorn's death early in the Fourth Age.
• Avathar- Between the mountains that barricade Aman and the sea, Avathar is a lightless valley where Ungoliant lived. This valley was unknown to the Elves, but Morgoth came here to recruit Ungoliant for the destruction of the Two Trees of Light.

Númenor

Middle-earth's Atlantis, the Valar created Númenor as a reward for the Men who fought against Morgoth during the First Age. In time, Númenor became a mighty sea-faring empire that rivaled the Elves and had colonies all over Middle Earth. Its first king was Elros Tar-Minyatur, the Half-Elven son of Eärendil and Elwing. Like his brother Elrond, the Valar had Elros choose whether to live as an Elf or as a Man. Though Elros chose the Gift of Men, he lived for over five hundred years. His descendants would inherit his vitality, though it dwindled as it passed down the generations; his most well-known descendant, Aragorn, lived for 210 years.

Sauron used that lack of immortality as the wedge to turn Númenor into his pawns against the Valar when its last king invaded Middle Earth and took him prisoner. After bargaining his way into an advisor role and subverting the kingdom and converting it to fantasy-Satanism (complete with human sacrifice), he convinced Ar-Pharazôn that he could defy the Ban of the Valar, sail into the West, and use his nation's military might to force the Valar to grant immortality to Men. As soon as Ar-Pharazôn set one foot onto the soil of Aman, Ilúvatar reshaped the world, removing any physical path to the Undying Lands that the inhabitants of Arda could take to reach it; the upheaval also caused Númenor to fall into the sea, save for the highest peak Menelterma.

Only the Faithful in Elendil's fleet escaped to Middle Earth when Númenor sank, these refugees would go on to found the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.

Other

Here for completeness's sake.

• The Dark Land: Also known as Australia. They are areas to the Far South of Middle Earth. There are some Yellow Mountains there, that's all we know.
• The Land of the Sun: The Easternmost lands of Arda in the Second Age. The Númenórians occasionally visited there during the height of their power.
• The New Lands: Created after the Downfall of Numenor and the transformation of Arda from a flat to a spherical world to the west. In short, the Americas.

Characters & Races of Arda

Moved here due to page bloat.

Languages

Being a linguistics professor, languages were a huge deal to Tolkien and play a major role in the setting.

• Quenya - the older Elvish language and primarily spoken by the elves who reached the Undying lands. In Middle Earth, its mainly used as a ceremonial language by both elves and the men of Gondor.
• Sindarin - the other Elvish language; because the Sindar were the dominant group of Elves in Middle Earth and due to the misdeeds of the Sons of Fëanor, Quenya was forbidden from being spoken in the Sindar kingdom of Doriath, thus causing Sindarin to become the most commonly spoken language by Elves in the First Age. It would retain its dominance in the later ages of Middle Earth, and is a commonly spoken language among educated Men. As such, it's the most complete language in the Lord of the Rings.
• Westron - aka the "Common Tongue." This language is rendered as English in the books, but some original Westron words appear in the books. Westron is a descendant of Adunaic, with elvish influences. Westron is the dominant language of the Men of the West, and is also used by Hobbits and Dwarves.
• Rohirric - the language of the men of Rohan. Rohirric is rendered as Old English to show the relationship between the men of Rohan and the men of Gondor. Hobbits picked up a few Rohirric words during their migration from Wilderland to the Shire.
• Dalish - The language of the men of Dale; because the Dalish are very distantly related to the men of Gondor, Dalish is rendered as Old Norse.
• Adunaic- The language of the men of Númenor, and derived from the dialects of the Edain. After Númenor became split between the King's Men and Faithful, the King's Men used Adunaic exclusively as they hated all things Elvish.
• Khuzdul - The language of the Dwarves. Dwarves do not speak Khuzdul in everyday conversation and don't normally teach it to outsiders, and indeed the Petty-dwarves sharing their Khuzdul names openly was part of the reason the little shits were exiled. It is very distinct in sound from both Elvish and Mannish languages.
• Entish - The language of the Ents. Notable for being very slow to speak, because the Ents believe that anything worth saying takes a long time to say. It presumably sounds like random tree creaking and rustling.
• Black Speech - Sauron's invented language. Derived from the elvish languages, though made deliberately to sound harsh by removing any pleasant phonetics, such as the letter "e," because it forces the speaker to smile. Used somewhat by Orcs, who mostly prefer to use some vulgar form of pre-existing languages, although they frequently bastardized in loan-words from Black Speech into the resultant mess of a language that was typically called Orkish. Pure Black Speech was typically only spoken by Black Númenóreans directly serving Sauron (such as the Mouth of Sauron), the Nazgûl, and whatever Shadow Cultists existed among the Wicked Men and subjugated peoples.
  • Orkish - An absolute trainwreck of a language spoken by Orcs. This "language" is not in anyway a unified language, with there being as many variations as there groups of Orcs; i.e. Mordor Orcs speak one dialect while Orcs from the Misty Mountains speak another, and even then different tribes amongst the Misty Mountains Orcs may speak their own dialect! The dysfunction of this language is one of the primary motivating factors for Sauron creating Black Speech, in the hope that his subordinates would finally be able to easily communicate with each other. Add one part debased Westron (usually just the profanities), one part Black Speech, and two parts of whatever words that the local Orcs in the area have made up for their dialect and you have Orkish!