The Cold Wastes, which occupy the northernmost quarters of
H. P. Lovecraft's
Dreamland, are home to mighty
Kadath, a positively enormous
onyx mountain. Atop this mountain perches the gargantuan
onyx castle, wherein the minor gods of
Dreamland reside. This castle was hewn from a giant
onyx quarry ages ago; no human or animal in its right mind will approach this
quarry - see below.
It is perpetually dark in the trackless leagues of the Cold Wastes, which are home to the most incalculable dangers. Only one man, Randolph Carter, lived through this journey, and even then, only because he was flown over the wastes by night-gaunts.
The best-known locales to the south of the Cold Wastes are the plain of Inquanok, which is separated from the Wastes by the Great Barrier Mountains, and the hideous plateau of Leng, which is considered unwholesome (and rightly so) and which goes unvisited by healthy individuals.
A sense of dread permeates the air the closer one gets to the Cold Wastes. Pack animals tend to get very spooked near it, and anyone foolish enough to try to ride up close to the Great Barrier Mountains will probably find himself bucked off the back of his beast, and then probably carried off by the Shantaks which guard the mountains.