Sources and atlas method

This atlas connects places, journeys and events from Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Its map is a schematic interpretation; it is not a survey or a canonical measurement of distances.

Sources and reading references

Place descriptions and event dates include links to Tolkien Gateway. These secondary articles help readers find the relevant passages in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and its Appendices, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. Chapter references are supplied where available; a general book reference does not independently substantiate every sentence.

The Rivendell reading references cover its foundation, Bilbo’s visit and the Council. The Fellowship chronology was cross-checked at major milestones against the Timeline of Frodo Baggins: departure from Bag End, the Council, departure from Rivendell and the breaking of the Fellowship. This is a targeted secondary-source check, not a fresh examination of every primary passage or every route waypoint.

Geography and recorded periods

The drawing uses a 2600 × 2300 coordinate space. The origin is at the top left, x increases to the right and y downwards. Coordinates are map units, never latitude and longitude. Regional scale is uneven, and small interiors are spread apart for readability. “Approximate” marks additional uncertainty; an unmarked point is still a schematic placement.

A recorded period can describe a settlement, realm or event. The end of a realm does not erase its geographical region. An unknown end remains unknown; undated places stay visible. Earlier geography projected onto the later map is especially uncertain.

Journeys and distances

Different reasons for an approximate position

Reviewed entries distinguish text-based reconstruction (a relative location without an exact site), historical reconstruction (older geography projected onto this later map), area anchors (a point naming a whole forest or region), and display offsets (small locations separated for readability). These are different limitations, not a scale of confidence. Unclassified approximate entries remain explicitly unclassified; absence of a note does not mean a position has been verified. The JSON export preserves an optional position object with kind and note.

Routes connect ordered waypoints and drawn detours. They are reconstructions, not terrain-aware navigation. Some daily dates and intermediate stopping places are inferred; route pages preserve these atlas labels without claiming that every one is explicitly dated in Tolkien. Traveller lists cover a route as a whole and do not establish attendance at every station.

The chapter explorer separately curates all 62 narrative chapters of The Lord of the Rings. A pin means that the listed characters are present at that place during some part of the chapter. It is not a simultaneous snapshot: chapters span time, later books follow overlapping storylines, and off-page characters are not inferred.

The map uses a nominal mile per map unit and rounds estimates to about two significant figures. Straight-line distances and route lengths inherit the map’s uneven scale. Directions assume a road one third longer than the straight line; mountains, crossings, rest days and delays are not calculated. Walking at 18 miles/day, riding at 40 and fast riding at 60 are illustrative scenarios, not established speeds for Tolkien’s characters. Distances to region or area label anchors are not useful point-to-point measurements.

Time and uncertainty

Dates retain their fictional age and year. Internally, a numerical sorting axis adds these offsets: YT −9031, FA −4031, SA −3441, TA 0 and FoA 3021. This is not a Gregorian calendar or a claim that Years of the Trees have the duration of solar years. Some uncertain events have a sorting anchor; their text and uncertainty flag take precedence over that number.

Responsibility and corrections

The Middle-earth Atlas project maintainers curate this fan project. To suggest a correction, open an issue with the place or event ID, the proposed correction, and a book/chapter or other source. Existing geographical and factual review notes are available in the project documentation.

A targeted secondary-source review of the Rivendell and Fellowship references took place on 12 September 2026. Other entries should not be interpreted as newly verified on that date. Content revisions are tracked in Git, and data exports include a reproducible revision hash.

Reuse and attribution

The project’s MIT License covers its code and documentation. Access to JSON grants no additional rights in Tolkien’s works or third-party artwork. Illustrations belong to their respective rights holders and are excluded from the MIT License; see the third-party notices. The social preview is an original typographic graphic, not third-party illustration.