The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Destroyed at the end of the First Age
Location
Flowing southwestwards to meet the Little Gelion and form the major river Gelion
Source
Beneath Mount Rerir in the northern Ered Luin
Tributaries
One, unnamed
Outflow
Formed Gelion proper at its confluence with the Little Gelion that flowed from the west
Important peaks
Associated with Mount Rerir
Pronunciation
Gelion is pronounced 'geh'lion'
Meaning
Uncertain1

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About this entry:

  • Updated 30 July 2019
  • This entry is complete

Greater Gelion

The greater of Gelion’s two source-rivers

Map of the Greater Gelion

The greater of two tributary streams that came together to form the long river Gelion. The Greater Gelion rose in the foothills of Mount Rerir at the northern end of the Blue Mountains, and flowed southwestward for some hundred miles, marking the eastern border of the lands under Maglor's control. Roughly halfway along its course it was joined by a tributary of its own, flowing out from Lake Helevorn. These combined streams ran on through the lands southward of Maglor's Gap, until they met the Little Gelion that came down from Himring to the northwest. The combined waters of the Great Gelion and Little Gelion thus gave rise to one of the great rivers of Beleriand, with the full river Gelion flowing on for hundreds of miles to meet the Great Sea in the distant south.


Notes

1

Tolkien himself seemed uncertain on the etymology of Gelion, and devised various possible sources for the name. The most recent appears to be Gabilán, Dwarvish for 'great river', though it is far from clear that this was the settled meaning. For more on this topic, see footnote 2 to the entry for Gelion.

See also...

Little Gelion, Maglor

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 30 July 2019
  • This entry is complete

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