The Shire
From Tolkien Gateway
File:Fotr0066.jpg
The Shire in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring.
The Shire is the region that is occupied by Hobbits. It is located in the northwest of Middle-earth, in the 'continent' of Eriador and the Kingdom of Arnor. Its name in Westron was Sûza "Shire" or Sûzat "The Shire".
According to Tolkien, the Shire measured 40 leagues (222 km, 120 Númenórean miles) from the Far Downs in the west to the Brandywine Bridge in the east, and 50 leagues (278 km, 150 miles) from the northern moors to the marshes in the south. This is confirmed in an essay by Tolkien (on the Languages of Middle-earth) wherein he describes The Shire as having an area of 18,000 square miles (47,000 km
