Mount Doom, also known as Orodruin and Amon Amarth, was a volcano in Mordor where the One Ring was forged, and the only place it could be destroyed. It was the ultimate destination for Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in the Quest of the Ring.
Description

Mount Doom, marked in red, as seen in The Battle for Middle-earth II
Mount Doom was located on the Plateau of Gorgoroth in northwestern Mordor. It was connected to Barad-dûr through the steaming fissures of Sauron's Road. It stood about 4,500 feet with its base about 3,000 feet tall.[1]
History
During the Second Age, Sauron chose the land of Mordor as his dwelling-place. He used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging. Around SA 1600, Sauron forged the One Ring in the depths of the Cracks of Doom, which was built within Mount Doom itself. On SA 3429, Mount Doom erupted, signaling Sauron's attack on Gondor, where it earned its name "Amon Amarth."[1][2][3]
After the War of the Last Alliance and Sauron's disappearance, it was dormant and only sprung into life in TA 2954 after Sauron's return to Mordor.
On TA 3019, Frodo and Sam trekked the slopes of Mount Doom and entered Sammath Naur.[4]
With the destruction of the Ring, Mount Doom erupted with great force, sending massive lava floes down its sides and scattering the area with volcanic debris. The cone of the volcano was ripped apart by the eruption, and the Nazgûl and their mounts were destroyed in the ejection of lava as they tried to reach Frodo to reclaim the Ring.[4]
Etymology
Orodruin was the common Sindarin name for Mount Doom. It means "Fire Mountain", from orod ("mountain") and ruin ("burning, fiery red"). However, the literal Sindarin translation for Mount Doom is Amon Amarth, from amon ("hill, mountain") and amarth ("doom, fate").[5][6] It is possible that "Doom" is a mis-anglicization of "Dun", an old-English and possibly Rohirric term for "mountain".
Portrayal in adaptations
Rankin/Bass' Return of the King
Mount Doom as depicted in the 1980 film
In The Return of the King film created by Rankin/Bass, Mount Doom is depicted as a slender composite volcano. The slopes of Mount Doom have a jagged, rocky landscape with ash channels. The Sammath Naur is shown as a small iron door way into a tunnel that leads to a open cavern with a lava pit in the center of it.
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy

Mount Ngauruhoe
In Peter Jackson's film trilogy, the New Zealand volcano Mount Ngauruhoe was used as Mount Doom in some scenes. In long shots, the mountain is either a large model or a CGI effect or a combination. Filming the summit of Ngauruhoe itself was not permitted because it is sacred to the Māori of the region. However, some scenes on the slopes of Mount Doom were filmed on the actual slopes of Mount Ruapehu.[7]
On November 22, 2012, it was incorrectly reported by media outside New Zealand that "Mount Doom" Ngauruhoe had erupted. The reported eruption was actually from nearby Mount Tongariro, not Mount Ngauruhoe.
Real-life
The International Astronomical Union names all mountains on Saturn's moon Titan after mountains in J.R.R. Tolkien's work. In 2012, they named a Titanian mountain "Doom Mons" after Mount Doom.
In the real world, the Italian volcano Stromboli was the inspiration for Mount Doom.
The Swedish death metal band Amon Amarth is named after the Sindarin translation for Mount Doom.
Gallery
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Translations
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Afrikaans | Berg Straf |
Albanian | Mali Dënim |
Amharic | የጥፋት ተራራ |
Arabic | جبل الهلاك |
Armenian | Ճակատագրական լեռ (Mount Doom) Օրոդրուին (Orodruin) |
Azerbaijani | Dağ əcəl |
Basque | Mendiaren Infernura |
Bengali | সর্বনাশের পাহাড় |
Bosnian | Planina Propasti |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Връх съдбата (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin) |
Burmese | ပျက်စီးခြင်း၏တောင် |
Cambodian | សភ្នំវិនាស |
Catalan | Muntanya del Destí |
Chichewa | Phiri Chilango |
Chinese (Hong Kong) | 末日火山 (Mount Doom) 歐洛都因 (Orodruin) |
Cornish | Menedh Terros ? |
Corsican | Muntagna Andantino |
Croatian | Kleta Gora |
Czech | Hora osudu |
Danish | Dommedagsbjerget |
Dutch | Doemberg |
Esperanto | Fatalo-Monto |
Estonian | Turmamägi |
Filipino | Bundok ng Lagim |
Finnish | Tuomiovuori |
French | Montagne du Destin (first translation) Mont Destin (second translation) |
Frisian | Doemspjalten (Western) |
Galician | Monte do Destino |
Georgian | ბედისწერის მთა (Mount Doom) ოროდრუინი (Orodruin) |
German | Schicksalsberg |
Greek | Όρος μοίρα |
Gujarati | મપ્રારબ્ધનો પહાડ |
Haiti Creole | Mòn Fayit |
Hebrew | (Orodruin) אורודרואין (Mount Doom) הר האבדון |
Hindi | माउंट कयामत |
Hungarian | A Végzet Hegye |
Icelandic | Dómsdyngju |
Indonesian | Gunung Azab |
Italian | Monte Fato |
Japanese | 滅びの山 (Mount Doom) オロドルイン (Orodruin) |
Javanese | Gunung Siksa |
Kannada | ಮೌವಿನಾಶದ ಪರ್ವತ |
Kazakh | Қиямет тауы (Cyrillic) Qïyamet tawı (Latin) |
Korean | 마운트 운명 |
Kurdish | Çiya Hukim (Kurmanji) |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Кыямат тоосу |
Latin | Montis Fati |
Latvian | Kalns Liktenis |
Lithuanian | Lemties kalne |
Luxembourgish | Montéierung |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Планината на судбината |
Malagasy | Tendrombohitra Loza |
Malayalam | ശവിധിയുടെ പർവ്വതം |
Maltese | Impunjazzjoni kundanna |
Malaysian | Gunung Azab |
Marathi | नाशाचा डोंगर |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Мөхлийн уул |
Nepalese | मविनाशको पहाड |
Norwegian | Dommedagsberget |
Occitan | Mont del Destin |
Pashto | د عذاب غر |
Persian | کوه هلاکت |
Polish | Góra Przeznaczenia |
Portuguese | Montanha da Perdição (Brazil)
Monte da Condenação or Montanha de Fogo Portuguese (Portugal) |
Punjabi | ਤਬਾਹੀ ਦਾ ਪਹਾੜ |
Romanian | Muntele Osândei |
Romansh | Destin Muntogna ? |
Russian | Роковая Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруин (Orodruin) |
Serbian | Планина судбине (Cyrillic) Planina sudbine (Latin) |
Sindhi | عذاب ٿي ويھو |
Sinhalese | විනාශයේ කන්ද |
Slovak | Hora Osudu |
Slovenian | Gori Pogube |
Somalian | Buur Cadaab |
Spanish (Spain and Latin America) | Monte del Destino |
Swahili | Adhabu ya Mlima |
Swedish | Domedagsberget |
Tajik Cyrillic | Кӯҳи ҳалокат |
Tamil | அழிவின் மலை |
Telugu | డూమ్ పర్వతం |
Thai | ภูมฤตยู |
Turkish | Hüküm Dağı |
Turkmen | Heläkçilik Dagy |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Вогняна Гора (Mount Doom) Ородруїн (Orodruin) |
Urdu | عذاب کا پہاڑ |
Uzbek | Қиёмат тоғи (Cyrillic) Qiyomat tog'i (Latin) |
Vietnamese | Núi Diệt Vong |
Yiddish | באַרג פאַרמישפּעטן |
Zazaki | Koyê Hukımi |
Places of Middle-earth and Arda
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Tower Hills | Weathertop City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost | Hornburg | Isengard | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Orthanc | Osgiliath | Rivendell | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens | Weathertop The rest of Arda:
Aman | Dark Land | Land of the Sun | Númenor | Tol Eressëa | Valinor |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Atlas of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, "Mount Doom"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (i): "Númenor"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter III: "Mount Doom"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings, Mordor
- ↑ Brian Sibley, The Making of the Movie Trilogy The Lord of the Rings, Houghton Mifflin (2002)