Iron Islands

The Iron Islands form part of the Kingdom of the Iron Islands. It had previously formed one of the nine constituent regions of Westeros. They are a group of seven small rocky islands clustered far off the western coast of the mainland of the continent, in Ironman's Bay. The Iron Islands are ruled from Ten Towers by House Blacktyde.

They are the smallest and among the least-populous of the regions of Westeros, but the naval skills of their population are unmatched and they enjoy great mobility due to their ships. The people of the Iron Islands, the ironborn, have a unique culture centered on maritime raiding and pillaging other peoples.

Bastards born in the Iron Islands are given the surname Harlaw.

Geography
The Iron Islands are located off the west coast of Westeros, in Ironman's Bay, an inlet of the Sunset Sea. They are north of the Westerlands, west of the Blue Fork of the Trident in the Riverlands, and southwest of the Neck and the North. However, essentially the entire west coast of Westeros, from the Wallin the North to the Arbor in the extreme south of the Reach, are considered to be within range of far-reaching ironborn coastal raids.

The Iron Islands are small and rocky, swept by fierce storm winds, with poor soil and hardly any natural resources. The few poor crop fields that are present have their rocky soil plowed by thralls, men captured in raids and forced into servitude, as they usually cannot afford draft animals. While located at roughly the same latitude as the Eyrie in the Vale or the Twins in the Riverlands, the harsh storm winds that howl through the islands make them fairly cold. It is no wonder that in this precarious position, the inhabitants came to rely on the bounty of the sea, and ultimately raiding the mainland.

The Known Islands
The main grouping of islands numbers thirty-one, with the seven major isles being Pyke, Great Wyk, Old Wyk, Harlaw, Saltcliffe, Blacktyde, and Orkmont. Eight days sail northwest of Great Wyk is a smaller grouping of thirteen clustered around the Lonely Light. Some of the Iron Islands are used for sheep grazing or are uninhabited. The islands are ruled from Harlaw, the seat of House Blacktyde.