Tûr Betark

The Tûr Betark was a range of mountains in the eastern end of the Yellow Mountains, that isolated Sirayn from the lands south. Its peaks rose some 10,000 feet into the southern skies.

Few passes exist to provide safe travel to southernmost Endor, only one known trade road being in use. The most notable promontory in the area, Ghabaras, the Horsehead’s Peak, is the highest in the local chain and possesses the richest mines beneath its roots.

In mineral composition, the Tûk Betark is similar to the rest of the range. Quartz, feldspar, and mica predominate in these ancient volcanic crags. The minerals cause the summits to appear to glow in the dawn light. Sedimentary and metarnorphic rocks may also be found in the northern and southern foothills. Marble, slate, and gneiss form the boundaries between the volcanic and sedimentary layers. Spectacular colors may be seen where the rock faces are exposed. Moving north from the Tûr Betark to the desert, the color of the soils and sands change from yellow to red. This gradation is caused by a change in the mineral content of the bedrock from yellow feldspar to red iron oxide.

The Tûr Betark has the coolest climate in Sirayn. Warm moist air from the Haragaer rises quickly and drops rain on the southern slopes and uppermost peaks of the mountains, bountiously feeding the streams and rivers of the northern slopes. Rainfall, although scant on the north side of the peaks, averages 75 to 100 inches a year on the south side, and snow falk in every month on the highest peaks. The climate of the Tûr Betark is a welcome change from that of the desert. Temperatures in the upper vales rarely grow warmer than 70 degrees in the summer. However, in the winter they seldom rise above freezing. As in any mountainous area, the temperature at night is much colder than in the daytime. During especially cold years, ice may form on still water during even the summer months.