Why is thousand needles underwater

This dried-out salt flat is actually below sea level. At its center stands an alkaline lake with ten times the salt of any ocean. The sere region is so hot, dry and salty that few creatures venture here. Lizards, scorpions, vultures, and birds of prey are not uncommon and neither are centaur war bands. A contingent of goblins mines for oil in the Scorched Basin.

The spire bridges allow travelers to traverse the canyon without running into the barbaric centaur who patrol the canyon floor. The bridges are not entirely safe, however, as birds of prey will attack the unwary. Larger birds have even sabotaged the bridges from time to time. There is very little of interest in this land, unless someone has a passion for salt or sandstone The barren canyons of Thousand Needles have traditionally been the territory of several Tauren tribes.

The Tauren were forced to live precariously on the tips of the high mesas in order to avoid the large tribes of Centaur that almost wiped them out. Now, with the help of the Horde , the Tauren are fighting back against their enemies, including the fanatical Grimtotem Tribe. The Shimmering Flats to the southeast are also the home of the world famous Mirage Racetrack, where gnomes and goblins race their respective rocket cars in order to permanently settle the question of which race has better engineering.

It is suspected that ages ago Thousand Needles was once a small inland sea, or perhaps even an inlet of the Great Sea. This explains the salt flat as well as why there are so many "needle"-like mesas once possibly islands. The cause for the sea's evaporation could be attributed to the sundering, which tore the ancient Kalimdor cleanly in two. A catastrophe such as this could easily have caused climate change. Another theory states that a river with its source in Feralas , possibly Wildwind Lake , flowed into the area that would become Thousand Needles.

The river cut through the earth, carving the canyon and shaping the dramatic pinnacles that became the Thousand Needles. It was a verdant, forested land. The river emptied into a large inland sea in the east. When the Great Sundering occurred, the course of the river was altered and ceased to flow through what would become Thousand Needles.

The forests died and the fertile soil became orange dust. The inland sea, without its source of water, evaporated, leaving behind a vast salt flat. It has also been thought by Falfindel Waywarder of Thalanaar that dark magic of some kind blighted the land. The Thousand Needles are home to several characters of note. Recover your password. Get help. Hidden Azeroth. Home Exploring Azeroth. All Cosmetics Pets and Mounts Toys.

Tabard of the Scarlet Crusade. Andrestrasz: The sleeping drake. The Fallen Drake of Nagrand. The Great Snake of Gundrak. Exploring Azeroth. An ancient wonder of Azeroth, the Thousand Needles once towered above a vast desert, dazzling all who braved its maze-like stone spires. Okay, to be fair this is still pretty freaking cool. Although it may have been destroyed in the live version of the game, the massive elevator still operates in this echo of the past. Long ago the four centaur tribes lived in harmony.

Then everything changed when the water nation attacked. I came here at level 32 with my Paladin, and wasn't able to do all that much before I ran out of quests to do. Comment by Speeddeath Fun place to level i got from here.. BTW, this place, if you look carefully, looks very.. Comment by if you look in the "quarry" in shimmering flats it looks like the statue of the statue of liberty's head.

And they didn't accept my cactuar picture for the zone. Comment by Great zone to farm gold ore , silver, iron, tin and copper. Comment by Rexz Home to the hilariously named Windbreaker Canyon.

Comment by I suspest 'Weazel' was a racer that tried to soup up his vehicle, but crashed. The explosion was so huge that it struck water. Weazel's crater. Racetrack runs around it. Comment by Sardoche How can i get quests for alliance in this zone? Or is there any? I went down the place called Thalanar and got FP but no questgivers around.

Comment by For any alliance looking for the horde flame for the midsummer fire festival, its slightly to the west of Freewind Post. Can be a little tricky to find. Comment by Shalke Thousand Needles. Comment by in wow cata 1KN is gonna be flooded Comment by lovechia will be redesigned to a high level zone in World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.

Comment by This zone will be flooded in Cataclysm, bumping up the ideal level requirement about ten levels. My own speculation will be that obviously the spires will become "islands", while a dam will be placed at either the entrance to Tanaris or to the Shimmering Flats, because Tanaris is obviously going to stay dry. Comment by Rumor has it there might be a dungeon added the this area, any thoughts on where? Comment by Boneflesh If this zone becomes flooded in Cataclysm, I suggest it's name being changed to Thousand Noodles.

Comment by Pappi Finally, Murlocs in 1k Needles.. Cool beans. The Twilight Hammer look like they've built quite the settlement on the edges of the zone.

The new Southsea pirate camp is looking great, probably to replace the flooded one in Tanaris is my guess. The Goblin boat is nice, and from the looks of it, quite roomy and very probably a nice Horde quest hub. The Tauren of Freewind Post are fighting the Grimtotems? Nice :P. Comment by Finally, a place to make some use of Aquatic Form.

Comment by does anyone notice the bridge connecting freewind post to darkcloud pinnacle? Comment by vindurza i'm gonna miss the old zone anyone else? Comment by Reebs Can any hunters in the Beta describe the current pet situation in the newly flooded Thousand Needles? I've been trying to see if the rare tan skinned silithid still resides there, although I'd imagine that with the Shimmering Flats being a lake it might encounter some difficulties.

Also, have any of the white wind serpents , purple hyenas , and other assorted fauna managed to survive albeit at a higher level reflecting their ordeal , or did they not learn to swim quick enough?

Any new interesting arrivals to report as well? Comment by Anyone know how to get there? There's a bridge in RFK that leads over, but I can't figure out how to get there.

Comment by As of Cataclysm, it seems Freewind Post has turned hostile and I'm currently clueless on where to pick up any quests for the zone questing achievements. Anyone have an idea? Comment by As of 4. Comment by You can start the quests at the very bottom of the entrance to the Great Lift. There are also more quests at the Speedbarge.

Comment by Post-Shattering, the quests in here now require you to use boats to get from place to place as a lowbie. Freewind Post has been totally overrun by the Grimtotem and merged with Darkcloud Pinnacle. Survivors have sought refuge by traveling north to Camp Mojache. The few that stayed behind are fighting with all their might to reclaim it.

The race track of the Shimmering Flats is no more. The dead bodies of animals, gnomes, and goblins alike are floating amongst the rubble in the water. Despite the casualties, all is not lost. The shortest tinkerers of Azeroth built a floating sanctuary complete with a bar! They spend their time collecting their dead and sifting among what's left of the rubble.

They do all this while fighting against the evil that has corrupted the land and threatens the harmony of their new home. Cho'gall's dark forces have also claimed parts of this land. The survivors of the great tide will need your help to bring peace back to Thousand Needles. Comment by Sintes To begin the quests in Thousand Needles - you will have to go trough Dustwallow Marsh - more precisely trough Mudspocket and get the quest To New Thalanaar which will lead you to Feralas and from there you will get to Thousand Needles and begin the quests.

Comment by mommyclz This zone is so cool now! Its all underwater and you get your own boat to ride around in! Comment by FlyingStratus Teehee. Just like the Legend of Zelda Wind Waker! Except the boat doesn't talk. Comment by todiwan One of the most pleasant zones to quest in, post-Cataclysm. In my opinion, at least. It's got really good story line and most quests are interesting. Really good XP without much grinding. Comment by GrregPaxxton I must say, now the Cataclysm's hit Comment by Spoonzilla This zone changed a lot with Cataclysm.

Notable changes include the flooding of the zone from the Great Sea pouring into it and the introduction of what I believe is a players first introduction into underwater questing.