Dorwinion (Biome)

Dorwinion is a land located in the westernmost part of Rhûn, famous for its wine. It's populated by Elves (supposedly Silvan Nandor and Penni Avari) and Men. The land is especially fertile and has a rich variety of trees and other vegetation. The underground consists of a very thick layer of chalkstone. The climate is mild and the typical soil consistency and composition are especially fitting for cultivation of grapes and olives.

The biome has a fairly normal landscape distribution. The land is dotted with boulders of chalkstone. Like the Shire, it is rather densely populated and structures are very common.

Upon entering Dorwinion, you will get the achievement "Elves and Vineyards".

Dorwinion Hills
These hills, also known as the 'Emyn Winion' are located in the south-west of Dorwinion, bordering Wilderland. The area consists of a huge chalkstone plateau that has been eroded in time, resulting in a very hilly and rugged landscape, like a 'Karstic landscape'. It is an excellent home to the largest bovine animals of Middle-Earth, the Kine of Araw.

The Emyn Winion has two variants, the standard landscape, which has only few trees, and areas covered in light forests. The vegetation is the same as in the rest of Dorwinion.

Variants
Dorwinion is a fairly friendly biome to its inhabitants and is the only biome that is home to the Vineyard biome variant. The region is defined 'normal oak' biome. This implies the following variants can be found there:
 * Standard - Normal Dorwinion biome.
 * Dense Oak Forest - Dense forestes with many large oak trees. Also huge oaks, measuring 3 m in diameter and reaching up to 30 m, are common here. Patches of cover the forest floor.
 * Dead Oak Forest - Lands covered in forests whose glory is passing away. The forest density is comparable to the light forest varaint, but there are many stems of dead, leafless trees. This variant is very helpful for acquiring large quantities of wood, as the dead trees provide a lot of easy accessible lumber.
 * Oak Shrublands - Forest covered lands with a lower tree density than regular forests, but with a very thick undergrowth of shrubs.

Structures
Go for it Grievous!

Mobs
Go for it Grievous! Men and Elves of Dorwinion live here.

Dorwinion is home to a species of cattle unique to this land: the legendary Kine of Araw. They will attack you if you hit them, and drop beef, leather and their potentially valuable horn.

Vegetation
The landscape is dominated by bright colours of its fertile grasses and the chalkstone underground. That underground doesn't support many large trees as the high dewatering capability of the chalk rock results in relatively low groundwater levels. Nonetheless, many types of trees flourish here, albeit that the predominant species are oak shrubs and the slender cypress tree, which is also unique for this biome.

The soil provides an excellent base for fruit trees and flowers. Grapes grow exceptionally well here and chances of finding olive trees is higher here than in any other warm temperate biome.

Mining
Dorwinion contains all the usual ores but there is a layer of Chalk under the surface. Chalk also will spawn as small boulders on the surface