Posted: August 03, 2000 at 06:19:44: by shadowfax
I do not think that Mordor was entirely formed of volcanic desert. Tolkien actually mentions there being salve-worked agriculture in the southern part. This must have produced sufficient food the vast armies based in Mordor, as well as any civilian population (if there was any). The maps also show there being a lake in Mordor with rivers flowing into it. As there is no river flowing out, the lake must have a high salt content (similar to the dead sea or lake Baikal) which would make agriculture on it's shores practically impossible. Although they may well have been swampy. Agriculture must have been concentrated in the far south of Mordor, away from the lake, and doubtlessly there were trade roads bringing the produce to Barad Dur and the fortresses up North.So, there is no real reason to suppose there were no swamps in Mordor, just that the characters of LotR probably never saw them.
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