The Blue and Green Forks of the Trident provide trade and transport to the region, leading to the immense wealth of House Frey. The west coast also tended to be less inhabited in ancient times due to the threat of ironborn raids. West of the Trident there are more signs of habitation, such as the town of Fairmarket and a plethora of small villages such as Hag’s Mire. The river lords also tend to regard them as a Vale problem and the Vale lords tend to regard them as a Riverlands problem. They have not been eliminated because they are more of a nuisance than a genuine long-term threat and spend more time fighting one another. Unable to enter the Vale of Arryn due to the fortified passes and the Bloody Gate, they instead frequently raid passing merchants and travellers. This region is relatively lightly inhabited due to the clans of the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon in the east. The area measures over 250 miles (maybe closer to 300 miles) from north to south and between 200 and 250 miles from north east to west. This area is dominated by House Frey, which rules from the Twins, and House Mallister, which rules from Seagard. This region is bordered by the marshlands of the Neck to the north, the Mountains of the Moon to the east, Ironman’s Bay to the west and the Red Fork of the Trident to the south. The northern Riverlands are less-densely populated than the southern. The largest lake, by far, is Gods Eye, out of which more rivers and streams pour, including the Rippledown Rill and a very large river known simply as the Gods Eye River. Most maps of the Riverlands show only these major waterways, but countless smaller streams criss-cross the region and more detailed and more local maps show a much more complex array of rivers, including the Big and Little Willow, the Maiden, the Greenapple and the Bitter River. Also notable are the Tumblestone and the headwaters of the Blackwater Rush. The most notable of these is the massive Trident and its three tributaries, the Red, Green and Blue Forks. The border with the Westerlands is arguably the most porous, especially as the hills and mountains north of the Red Fork are also held by the Lannisters, forming a salient into Riverlands territory.Īpart from the North, the Riverlands is the only region of Westeros with territory on both the east and west coast of the continent (on Ironman’s Bay and the Bay of Crabs, and also a small stretch of the Bite in the far north-east), and the only one to have ports to take advantage of that.Īs the name suggests, the Riverlands are dominated by lakes, rivers and streams. The Riverlands has borders with the North, the Vale of Arryn, the Crownlands, the Reach and the Westerlands, along with naval borders with the Iron Islands counting the latter, it borders more other regions than any other part of the Seven Kingdoms. Their borders have changed over the years, but today they are generally held as the Neck to the north, the Mountains of Moon and the Bay of Crabs to the east, the Blackwater Rush to the south and the western hills and mountains to the west. The Riverlands sprawl for over 600 miles from the lower end of the Neck to the shores of the Blackwater Rush, with a maximum east-west distance of just over 500 miles.
The Riverlands in 297 AC (click for a larger version).