Stonetalon Mountains

From Wowpedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For the original Stonetalon, see Stonetalon Mountains (original).

Stonetalon Mountains
Level 25 - 30

Races	Orc Goblin Tauren Troll Night elf Worgen Gnome Pandaren Kobold Harpy
Major settlements	Krom'gar Fortress Sun Rock Retreat Malaka'jin Cliffwalker Post Thal'darah Overlook Windshear Hold Farwatcher's Glen
Minor settlements	The Sludgewerks Mirkfallon Post Northwatch Expedition Base Camp
Affiliation	Contested
Location	Northwest of The Barrens
PvP status	Contested territory (PvP realms only)

The Stonetalon Mountains, aka Stonetalons, are a range of peaks that lie west of the Northern Barrens, south of Ashenvale, and north of Desolace. The mountains are traditionally the homeland of the harpies, but their numbers have dwindled with the turmoil in the region. Stonetalon Peak, the largest mountain in the range, has long been a sacred place for both the night elves and tauren. The night elves once maintained a barrow and a glade at the top, but the area has since come under attack by a sinister force. The mountains further south are less forested, although some sparse evergreens grow in certain spots, particularly the Greatwood Vale. Windshear Crag has been decimated by years of logging by various factions, leaving the air is filled with soot and spoiling the area's water with oil and waste. The night elves have several holds, while the tauren have a settlement in the centrally located Sun Rock Retreat and the Darkspear trolls have a village further south at Malaka'jin. The Horde and Alliance also have posts at various battlefronts throughout the mountains. The mountains are home to creatures such as kobolds, spiders, and eagles, while Charred Vale stretches out to the sea and holds several especially dangerous black dragons and elementals.

History

Greatwood Vale

The Third War

This section concerns content exclusive to Warcraft III.

Stonetalon Mountains have traditionally been the area of Kalimdor where night elves and tauren coexist and forms a border between the two peoples. Stonetalon Peak has long been a sacred place for the two races, and was historically the home of the immortal Oracle, the being who saw the strands of fate as they were woven by the Earth Mother. During the Third War, the mountains hosted human and orcish camps, and it was at Stonetalon Peak that the Alliance and the Horde temporarily united in order to fight the Burning Legion.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content exclusive to World of Warcraft.

Pearl of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to the World of Warcraft comics.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

In the RPG

This section concerns content exclusive to the Warcraft RPG and is considered non-canon.

The Stonetalon Mountains were once a low set of hills giving a gentle view to the ocean waves in the west. The Sundering that tore apart the world drove great sandstone cliffs and mountain peaks high in the air. Water from the eastern coast poured into the newly created chasms and gorges. With the aid of erosion from the Blackwolf River, the Stonetalon Mountains have expanded into a vast network of canyons and cliff openings that invites adventurers and beasts alike to explore the virgin lands. The Stonetalons rise in central Kalimdor, south of Ashenvale Forest and north of Desolace. The mountain range feeds into the bleak expanse of the Barrens to the east. The atmosphere of the Stonetalon Mountains can best be described as extreme. At the lower elevations it is windy, hot, and dry. It is a harsh place where food cannot grow and flash floods are commonplace in the early summer months. Moisture from the ocean builds up into huge rain clouds, but the towering peaks are too high for the clouds to pass inland. They crash against the mountains’ western side and pour massive sheets of water upon the slopes to run through narrow canyons and back into the ocean or into a valley to dry up in a marshy sink. When the weather turns to rain, the ground grows slick and gray. Walking on a slope or a cliff in the rain is treacherous — water seeps through the sandstone and threatens to send even careful travelers plummeting to their deaths. Oftentimes, when the clouds expel all their moisture, hot winds push them farther up the slope, surrounding the Stonetalon Peak in a shroud of thundering mist. An immediate feature any visitor notices — aside from the sheer cliffs and deep crevasses - is the constantly blowing wind. Sometimes a gentle breeze carries fresh air in from the ocean and other times a violent gale stirs up vicious dust devils or brings a storm in from the western mountains. The rugged mountains are home to many wild beasts and only a few civilized habitations. Hippogryphs roost near Mirkfallon Lake in cave complexes high on the slopes. Their nests are defended by large bramble hedgerows, making access nearly impossible without flying. Other creatures found throughout the mountains are striders, hyenas, kobolds, swoops, crag panthers, and even rock elementals and the rare sabertooth cat.

Further up the Stonetalon Peak, on its eastern side, are the chaotic lands of the wyverns and drakes. These ancient “flying lizards” have long been rivals for supremacy of the skies. Every once in a while, when other races threaten to interfere, the two will set aside their differences long enough to deal with the interlopers. Agents of the goblin-run Venture Company have also been sighted in the area, searching for potential tracts to deforest and streams of precious ore to plunder with their mining machines. The mountains are known for their Ill Winds. The winds whip through the Stonetalon Mountains with great force, slowing travelers' progress and throwing up clouds of grit and dust that can confuse the best sense of direction. Small and lightly built individuals have even been flung off a mountainside by a particularly forceful gust. The wind in Stonetalons seldom drops below moderate even on a calm day and can change from a steady breeze to a brutal windstorm without warning.^[1]

Getting there

The normal questing experience for both factions guides them into Stonetalon through Talondeep Pass in the mountains in southwestern Ashenvale.

Geography

Windshear Mine

The Stonetalon Mountains lie between the forests of Ashenvale to the north and the bleak Desolace to the southwest. The highest peaks of the mountains are thickly forested with evergreens, though the forest thins with lower altitude. The logging of the Venture Company, the Horde, and the Alliance, has further thinned the forest, with clear cutting in and around Windshear Crag. The mountains boast Mirkfallon Lake, which historically was a nesting site for wyverns, but is now being dredged by goblins of the Horde. Battlescar Valley is a major battlefront between the Horde and Alliance. Charred Vale, once a lush and beautiful area, is now a desolate ruin full of fire elementals and black dragons.

There are no instanced dungeons nor PvP battlegrounds in the Stonetalon Mountains.

Maps and subregions

Stonetalon Mountains map

Battlescar Valley (Thal'darah Grove) · Boulderslide Ravine (Boulderslide Cavern) · Cliffwalker Post · The Charred Vale · The Deep Reaches · Farwatcher's Glen · Greatwood Vale (Camp Aparaje · Grimtotem Post · Malaka'jin) · Mirkfallon Lake (Mirkfallon Post · The Sludgewerks) · Northwatch Expedition Base Camp · Sishir Canyon (Ruins of Eldre'thar) · Stonetalon Peak · Sun Rock Retreat · The Talon Den · Talondeep Pass · Thal'darah Overlook · Trueshot Point · Unearthed Grounds · Webwinder Hollow · Webwinder Path · Windshear Crag (Blackwolf River · Cragpool Lake · The Fold · Krom'gar Fortress · Windshear Hold [ Fallowmere Inn ] · Windshear Mine · Windshear Valley) · Windshear Heights

Warcraft RPG

Bones of the Earth Mother · Great Maze · Mount Farview · Valley of the Bloodfurys

Warcraft III

Stonetalon Peak caverns

Topographic map of pre-Shattering Stonetalon Mountains

Travel hubs

Krom'gar Fortress

Flight paths from Windshear Hold

Stardust Spire, Ashenvale
Thal'darah Overlook, Stonetalon Mountains
Mirkfallon Post, Stonetalon Mountains
Farwatcher's Glen, Stonetalon Mountains
Northwatch Expedition Base Camp, Stonetalon Mountains
Nijel's Point, Desolace

Flight paths from Northwatch Expedition Base Camp

Stardust Spire, Ashenvale
Thal'darah Overlook, Stonetalon Mountains
Mirkfallon Post, Stonetalon Mountains
Farwatcher's Glen, Stonetalon Mountains
Windshear Hold, Stonetalon Mountains
Nijel's Point, Desolace

Flight paths from Mirkfallon Post

Windshear Hold, Stonetalon Mountains
Thal'darah Overlook, Stonetalon Mountains
Farwatcher's Glen, Stonetalon Mountains

Flight paths from Sun Rock Retreat

Flight paths from Malaka'jin

Thunder Bluff
The Crossroads, Northern Barrens
Krom'gar Fortress, Stonetalon Mountains
Cliffwalker Post, Stonetalon Mountains
Sun Rock Retreat, Stonetalon Mountains
Shadowprey Village, Desolace

Flight paths from The Sludgewerks

Krom'gar Fortress, Stonetalon Mountains
Cliffwalker Post, Stonetalon Mountains
Sun Rock Retreat, Stonetalon Mountains

Flight paths from Cliffwalker Post

Hellscream's Watch, Ashenvale
Zoram'gar Outpost, Ashenvale
Krom'gar Fortress, Stonetalon Mountains
The Sludgewerks, Stonetalon Mountains
Sun Rock Retreat, Stonetalon Mountains
Malaka'jin, Stonetalon Mountains

Adjacent regions

Zone Name	Level Range	Direction	Access
Northern Barrens	10-20	East	By flight
Ashenvale	20-25	Northeast	By foot through the Talondeep Pass or by flight
Southern Barrens	30-35	Southeast	By foot through Stonetalon Pass or by flight
Desolace	30-35	South	By foot through the Charred Vale or by flight