Maelstrom

As the aftershocks from the Well of Eternity's implosion rattled the bones of the world, the seas rushed in to fill the gaping wound left in the earth. Nearly eighty percent of Kalimdor's landmass had been blasted apart, leaving only a handful of separate continents surrounding the new, raging sea. At the center of the new sea, where the Well of Eternity once stood, was a tumultuous storm of tidal fury and chaotic energies. This terrible scar, known as the Maelstrom, would never cease its furious spinning. It would remain a constant reminder of the terrible catastrophe... and the utopian era that had been lost forever.

(From the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos manual)

As things currently stand, the Maelstrom is a large storm only viewable in World of Warcraft on the world map, where it sits between Kalimdor and the Eastern Kingdoms. Ship and Zeppelin routes go out of their way to avoid the Maelstrom, for fairly obvious reasons. It is implied that the Malestrom is slowly drawing the Broken Isles towards itself, and will ultimately destroy them for good.

At the center of the Maelstrom is a location known as, The Eye. The empires of the Makrura, and Naga lie beneath it.

In Warcraft three, when Thrall's fleet crashed, it would appear that the emergency landing was on the maelstrom (though Azerothian geography has changed significantly since the strategy series) where the trolls were fighting desperately against human invaders and murloc raiders, though according to the online game, the trolls were found in Stranglethorn Vale. This is almost directly south of where Thrall's fleet set sailed, and if would seem strange that a fleet could be thrown as far off course as to a point almost due south of their original point, considering the orcs were headed west.

Zones & Locations

• The Eye
• Nazjatar
• The Boiling Terrace
• The Rift
• Scintal Reef
• The Drowned Reaches
• Gishan Caverns
• Mak'aru
• Pillar Deep

The Maelstrom is also a PVP server.