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Damn you, Tolkien, you're no James Hutton.

Tor.com has a couple of great, super-nerdy articles on the faulty geology of Tolkien's map of Middle-earth. The money quote in my opinion:

"Tolkien’s novels have had a massive influence on epic fantasy as a genre, his map is the bad fantasy map that launched a thousand bad fantasy maps..."

So, with that introduction, here's the links.

Tolkien's Map and the Messed Up Mountains of Middle-Earth

Tolkien's Map and the Perplexing River Systems of Middle-earth

As a bonus, the author, apparently a geologist by training and a fantasy buff by avocation, has given us an article on the geology of desert planets. Yee-haw!

Arrakis, Tatooine, and the Science of Desert Planets

-- Everett

Post-script: Oh my, the comments are a wonder to behold.