Death Mountain

Death Mountain
Type	Mountain
Location	Hyrule
Debut	The Legend of Zelda

Death Mountain is one of Hyrule's most notable locations, which has made recurring appearances throughout the The Legend of Zelda series. It is typically presented as the home of the Goron clan and as a large volcanic mountain that is part of a mountain range.

Information

Hyrule is described as a land of mountains and forests, with Death Mountain being on of its largest and most prominent. It is volcanic in nature, and so it most appearances some parts of the volcano are filled with magma. Large boulders falling down the mountain are also a common hazard in most appearances. On top of that, it is often filled with dangerous enemies. Entry to the mountain is prohibited during A Link to the Past and Ocarina of Time, unless one has the king's permission. However, it is also often shown as the home of the friendly Goron Tribe in several games. They grow Bomb Flowers and forage for rocks on the mountain. The mountain has also been shown to contain mining operations in several appearances, which are operated by either Gorons or Rosso in A Link Between Worlds, and in some cases hot springs.

Death Mountain is typically located in the northern part of Hyrule, often being the northernmost area that can be visited in games, and it is considered to be part of the Eldin Province. The main exception to it being the northernmost location was Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, where was part of a larger area of mountains south of Saria Town that were connected by a maze-like path and known as the 'Death Mountain Area', although the area to the south of Death Mountain resembled a compressed version of Hyrule as seen in The Legend of Zelda. This implies that that The Legend of Zelda (and possibly all Zelda games set with Death Mountain to the north) took place within a small part of larger Hyrule.

In some games, Kakariko Village is found at or near the base of the mountain.

Alternate Versions

In A Link to the Past, Death Mountain also refers to its counterpart in the Dark World, the corrupted version of the Sacred Realm. It is a darker and more perilous version of the mountain. At the top of the western mountain is Ganon's Tower, where Aganhim operated. On the eastern mountain was Turtle Rock where Princess Zelda was held. It was the first Dark World area that Link entered in the game.

Death Mountain also had a counterpart in Lorule in A Link Between Worlds. This version of Death Mountain was covered in snow, with its volcano seemingly dormant. It contained the Treacherous Tower (a counterpart to the Tower of Hera) and the Ice Ruins.

Locations

Recurring

• Goron City - The home of the Gorons, although it is different in most appearances. In Ocarina of Time, it was built into caverns of Death Mountain.
• Spectacle Rock - A pair of large rocks which are sometimes connected and usually hide some type of secret, including Ganon's lair in the original The Legend of Zelda. Their name comes from the rocks resembling a pair of spectacles.
• Tower - A tower has been located atop Death Mountain in several different games. It is unknown if they are all the same tower. The Tower of Hera has appeared in A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds, while the Tower of Flames has appeared in Four Swords Adventures.

The Legend of Zelda

• Death Mountain Labyrinth - Ganon's lair and the final dungeon of the game. Its entrance is found in Spectacle Rock, and Link can only enter it when he has the full Triforce of Wisdon.
• Dragon Labyrinth - The sixth dungeon of the game. Its entrance is located by the graveyard. The Magic Rod is obtained here, and the dungeon is also home to Wizzrobes. The boss of the dungeon is Gohma.
• Lizard Labyrinth - The fifth dungeon of the game. Its entrance is located along the northern part of the map and can be accessed only by clearing the puzzle of the Lost Hills. The flute is found here, and the boss is Digdogger. This dungeon is also home to Gibdos.
• Lost Hills - An area similar to the Lost Woods, located just south of the Lizard Labyrinth. The area has four paths, but taking most paths will return Link back to the entrance. Link has to take the upper path four times to reach the Lizard Labyrinth, or he can exit the area by going to the left instead.

Ocarina of Time

• Dodongo's Cavern - A large system of caves located near Goron City that acts as a dungeon in the pre-timeskip part of Ocarina of Time. The Gorons went there to forage for sirloin rocks, and they also grew Bomb Flowers there. As the name implies, it was also home to various Dodongos. Ganondorf filled the cave with more Dodongos and blocked off the entrance with a boulder to keep the Gorons from getting their prized food. Link eventually destroyed the boulder and defeated King Dodongo in order to earn the Goron's Ruby.
• Fire Temple - Located within Death Mountain crater and thus is filled with fire and lava. This is a temple associated with the Sage of Fire, Darunia. Within the game, Ganondorf awakened [[Volvagia and imprisoned numerous Gorons there to be sacrificed to him. It acted as a dungeon for Link to complete in the second half of the game, in which he slew Volvagia and saved the Gorons, while Darunia awakened as the Fire Sage.

Other Appearances

Video Games

• In Hyrule Warriors, Death Mountain was featured as one of the stages, based on Ocarina of Time. In the game's story mode, it was the setting of Impa and Sheik's battle against Darunia and the Gorons, who had been brainwashed by Wizzro.
• In Cadence of Hyrule, Death Mountain was one of the areas that could be visited. In the northern part of Hyrule, it was home to the Temple of Storms.

Trivia

• In the Japanese versions of A Link to the Past and A Link Between Worlds, Death Mountain is instead called Mount Hebra (as well as the Tower of Hera originally being the Tower of Hebra in Japanese), and only the Dark World/Lorule versions are called Death Mountain. The Hebra Mountains are later made into a separate mountain range/region in Breath of the Wild.
• It is possible that the top of Death Mountain could be one of the islands seen in The Wind Waker. Theories have connected it to Spectacle Island (due to the similarity to Spectacle Rock), Fire Mountain (due to its volcanic nature) or Dragon Roost Island (due to housing a volcano, Bomb Flowers and a dragon deity connected to Volvagia).
• The instruction manual of A Link to the Past describes Lynels as the mountains' guardians.
• In Breath of the Wild, most of Death Mountain's locations are named after Gorons from other games, such as Lake Darunia.
• In games set in Hyrule without Death Mountain, similar volcanic mountains are often visited instead, such as Mt. Crenel in The Minish Cap and Eldin Volcano in Skyward Sword. It is possible that one or both of those volcanoes are Death Mountain at other points in time.
• In Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, Tingle visits an island with the volcanic Mt. Desma. This is likely meant to be Death Mountain, as it is described in ancient times as being the "Mountain of Death".