Stonetalon Mountains

The Stonetalon Mountains are ancient lands ancestrally claimed by both Tauren and Night Elves. In recent times the valleys of Stonetalon have become heated battlegrounds between the Grand Alliance and New Horde.

An Adventurer's Journal

"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."

(Source - Totally Warcraft Blog)