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I want to ask if this map of Beleriand (in the northwest of Middle-earth) is correct. I think it isn't because Beleriand should've been sank, and you can clearly see that there is Beleriand above Eriador, but still this is the best full map I've found on the Internet.

Image titled "A Map of Middle-earth and the Undying Lands" showing the Lamps of the Valar and the Two Trees

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No

First of all, the map appears to be completely unreliable not because it was not designed by Tolkien himself, but rather because its author tried to put together a "composite" map representing all "the lands of Arda throughout the ages", which is an impossible task to achieve.

So, the map shows:

  • the two Great Lamps of the Valar Illuin and Ormal, long destroyed by Morgoth and ruined with the surrounding lands before the First Age started;
  • Beleriand, which sank beneath the sea at the end of the First Age during the War of Wrath, which also heavily changed other regions of Middle-earth;
  • the continent of Númenor, raised at the beginning of the Second Age and then submerged again (with the exception of its highest peak) at the end of that age;
  • the Undying Lands, removed from the Circle of the World after the destruction of Númenor;
  • parts of Middle-earth as they appear during the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (at the end of the Third Age).

To make a silly comparison, it's as "reliable" as a map of Earth showing together Pangaea, Atlantis and present-day Europe :-).

Moreover, as commented by user @suchiuomizu, Númenor appears completely different from the map published in Unfinished Tales (redrawn by Christopher Tolkien from a sketch of his father's), where Númenor is shown as a large star-shaped continent whose central region is a large plain with an isolated mountain.

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  • Thank you, you explained it well, so it is completly wrong, but can i just ask 1 more question, are undying lands present in 4th age? Can humans reach it?
    – Ante Bekic
    May 7, 2016 at 11:52
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    @AnteBekic it's generally better to create new questions, instead of writing questions in the comment sections; in this particular case, the question already exists: What are the Undying Lands?
    – lfurini
    May 7, 2016 at 12:06
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    Its also worth mentioning that Numenor was drawn completely wrong. It was in the shape of a five pointed star.
    – suchiuomizu
    May 7, 2016 at 13:46
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    Also, Eriador is squeezed too far south, Beleriand is twice as big as it should be relative to Eriador.And don't even get me started about the "Undying Lands"...
    – Spencer
    May 18, 2022 at 16:58
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I'm afraid the map you posted in your question is not a genuine map by Tolkien. The nearest Tolkien got to making a "full" map of Arda is a rough sketch, shown in the original form, ("Map V" in "The Ambarkanta", The Shaping of Middle-earth, volume 4 of The History of Middle-earth) and below coloured for clarity.

composite image showing Tolkien's sketch of Arda before the changing of the world in black-and-white above, with the coloured version (sea blue, land yellow, outer sea light blue)

The Undying Lands are on the left, and Middle-earth is top centre. This is the world as it would have been before the Breaking, when the world was made round and Valinor removed from the physical world.

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  • Shame on me I didn't read silmarilon, I don't know what happend im reading it right now...I dont understand then, if the middle earth is just on top, what are all this other lands are they mentioned in his other books?(i heard of "The history of middle earth" is it explained there?, another thing what you said about undying lands, are they accessible to humans right now in fourth age? I mean if the Elrond Galadriel, Gandalf, Bilbo and Frodo managed to get there can humans too? I heard Sam and Gimli did get there too later... I am full of questions haha
    – Ante Bekic
    May 7, 2016 at 10:54
  • Mortals were never permitted to visit the Undying Lands, save one, and he was only successful because he had one of the Silmarils in his possession. An army from Numenor, led by Ar-Pharazon, the last King, was trapped under falling rocks on the shores of the Undying Lands and remains there still, until the end of days. This led to Aman being removed to another plane of existance in the Second Age. I highly suggest you read Tolkien's works :-)
    – maguirenumber6
    May 7, 2016 at 14:05
  • I agree totally, i should've first read the book and then ask questions but in Silmarilion I always hear some new names and places that i never heard before so i start looking on internet and i get more questions than answeres
    – Ante Bekic
    May 7, 2016 at 14:18

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