The Warcraft Encyclopedia/Azeroth

This article is a copy of "The Warcraft Encyclopedia," an official article by Blizzard Entertainment. It presented information about a variety of things in the Warcraft universe. The original article, formerly located at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/encyclopedia/index.xml, did not survive the overhaul of the World of Warcraft Official Website.

Although it is merely one of countless planets in the Great Dark Beyond, Azeroth has been the primary site of events in the Warcraft universe. It is the only world in all of existence to have successfully resisted an invasion from the Burning Legion and has, against all odds, done so twice.

Population
Many races have originated upon Azeroth, including blood elves, dwarves, gnomes, high elves, humans, naga, night elves, tauren, and trolls. It also has a substantial orc population, though the orc race originated on the planet Draenor.

Although they cannot by any stretch of the imagination be considered a single race, there are many undead creatures on Azeroth. In recent years their numbers have been increasing at an alarming rate.

Geography
Azeroth can be broken down into several major areas, including the Eastern Kingdoms, Kalimdor, Northrend, and the South Seas.

Integrally connected to Azeroth and yet distinct from it, the Emerald Dream is the underlying blueprint of the planet as it was originally designed by the titans. The Dream is a lush and primal forest: the world that Azeroth might have become, had it developed without interference from the sentient races (e.g., technological advances, urbanization, and wars).