The Warcraft universe is a fictional universe in which a series of games and books published by Blizzard Entertainment are set. Players were first introduced to this universe in the original Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in Eastern Kingdoms of the planet Azeroth. Known worlds in the Warcraft universe include Azeroth, Draenor the Red World (later called Outland), Argus, K'aresh, and Xoroth.

Geography

The majority of media in the Warcraft universe takes place upon a planet called Azeroth. This planet has three continents, named the Eastern Kingdoms, Northrend (the world polar cap) and Kalimdor, all of which are separated by a giant ocean called the Great Sea. In the center of the Great Sea is an enormous, everlasting vortex called the Maelstrom (created as a result of a cataclysm that split the previous supercontinent of Kalimdor into the three current major landmasses).

The landmass of the Eastern Kingdom is the setting of the majority of the Warcraft stories. In Warcraft: Orcs & Humans, the Humans of the story belong to the Kingdom of Azeroth, which lies south of Khaz Modan and was the largest human kingdom at the time. In Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the human kingdom depicted was Azeroth's northern neighbour of Lordaeron, which successfully headed the old Alliance in fighting off the orcish invasion but later fell to the Scourge in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.

The continent of Kalimdor was introduced in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. Whereas Azeroth (the continent) can be described as the equivalent of medieval Europe, with highly traditional kingdoms with advanced cities, Kalimdor can be compared to the Americas at their time of discovery by Europeans, full of wild, unexplored lands. The geology of Kalimdor is similar to North America, with massive, ancient forests covering the Northern parts and vast deserts in the South.

The third continent, Northrend, is the northern polar cap of Azeroth and is the primary stronghold of the malevolent Undead Scourge. Northrend is featured in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion set Warcraft III: Frozen Throne, and will be featured in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, the second expansion pack to World of Warcraft.

Second in importance to Azeroth is the planet of Draenor, now known as Outland, the original homeland of the Orcs and Ogres. The Eredar who refused to ally themselves with Sargeras and the Burning Legion fled to this planet and became known as the Draenei ("Exiled Ones" in their native tongue; Draenor being "home of the exiled"). Draenor was torn apart when an Orc shaman named Ner'zhul opened too many gateways to other worlds, when trying to escape the invading Alliance Armies coming from Azeroth, causing it to crumble and phase into the mysterious parallel dimension called the Twisting Nether, Home of the Demons. The remnants of the world are now known as Outland, and it features in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and most prominently in World of Warcraft's first expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.