Tanaris

Tanaris is the great desert of southern Kalimdor, a sea of dunes and dry canyons running down to a pirate-haunted coast. Life here depends on water, and on the goblins who control it.

The goblins of the Steamwheedle Cartel have made the walled town of Gadgetzan their main base in the south, a neutral trading post where Horde and Alliance alike can buy, sell and rest, as long as they keep the peace. Outside the walls, the Wastewander bandits prey on travellers and the town's precious water, and the Southsea pirates hold Lost Rigger Cove on the eastern shore.

The desert is older than the goblins. In the north-west lies Zul'Farrak, the city of the Sandfury trolls, descendants of trolls stranded by the Great Sundering who adapted to the sands and grew harsh with it. In the east, hidden among the mountains, are the Caverns of Time, home of the bronze dragonflight, the guardians of time itself. And in the south, the Gaping Chasm is a living silithid hive, part of the swarm that once pushed north from Silithus and helped spark the War of the Shifting Sands.

Written for this site from the game's lore. Further reading: Tanaris on Warcraft Wiki.