Desert · Desert Road & Rangipō

Rangipō Desert

A high gravel desert in the volcanoes’ rain shadow, used for Mordor and the Black Gate.

Not a true desert (it gets plenty of rain) but a plateau where thick pumice and ash from the Taupō eruption, frost and wind keep vegetation to a minimum. Open plains of gravel and tussock run up to the eastern slopes of Ruapehu. Much of it is in the Waiouru army training area; the Desert Road (SH1) gives constant views.

On screen. Mordor plains and the Battle of the Black Gate, The Return of the King.