Best natural defenses

[Batman]

In your opinion of the Seven Kingdoms, in order, what Kingdom has the best natural defenses? This would include defensible borders, intensity of seasons, storms, terrain, forests. Basically things that will impede an army entering their kingdom and then campaigning in their territory.

[Sansa_Stark]

north

[Nictarion]

The Vale because of their mountains and Dorne because of their desserts.

[thecryptile]

Gotta be the Vale... without Dragons no way an aggressor could take the Eyrie

[Woftis]

Agreed with other posters on the Vale, am I right in saying even starving them out isn't a possibility?

[Fire Eater]

The North during winter as well as the size of the domain. There is also Moat Cailin and the Neck guarded by crannogmen. WF with its glass gardens can sustain itself during a siege.

[Jon Stone]

The Vale is basically impregnable, is it not? the Mountains of the Moon are huge. Though I believe the Bloody Gate, Moon Gate and High Road are all man-made structures.

The Dornish deserts sound pretty harsh.

And Winter in the North. Oh man, try to bring an army from the South, I dare you.

[Jon Stone]

Sorry, DP

[Joey Beers]

Agreed with other posters on the Vale, am I right in saying even starving them out isn't a possibility?

It would seem starving someone out is based purely on your provisions versus their provisions. The place doesn't matter as much. Unless somehow you could hole up in a fortress while still getting supplied with food. The Vale is a tough place to assault, but without food it is just an elevated place to die.

[Woftis]

The problem with the North is that you just need a good fleet of ships. The Vale doesn't have that vulnerability.

[Jon Stone]

Agreed with other posters on the Vale, am I right in saying even starving them out isn't a possibility?

It'd be easy to starve the Eyrie out once your through the Gates of the Moon (all their supplies come from the ground, do they not?). But getting through the Gates is another thing entirely.

[Warrior Queen]

Dorne. It couldn't even be conquered with dragons.

Impregnable castles like Harrenhall and the Eyrie were conquered with Aegon's dragons. Dorne was and is unbent, unbowed, unbroken.

[Woftis]

It would seem starving someone out is based purely on your provisions versus their provisions. The place doesn't matter as much. Unless somehow you could hole up in a fortress while still getting supplied with food. The Vale is a tough place to assault, but without food it is just an elevated place to die.

But I mean, is there not miles of fertile land in between the Bloody Gate and The Eyrie meaning they would have a constant supply of food?

[sansa's sworn sword]

north, going through the bogs would be hell.

[Fire Eater]

The problem with the North is that you just need a good fleet of ships. The Vale doesn't have that vulnerability.

The Andals invaded the Vale by sea. That body of water you see bordering the Vale is the Narrow Sea.

[King of Winters]

The problem with the North is that you just need a good fleet of ships. The Vale doesn't have that vulnerability.

You can sail to The Fingers and then cross The Vale from there.

As to the subject The North has probably the best defences as it's got Moat Cailin that can repel entire armies and during Winter, it's difficult for Southerners to survive.

[Nictarion]

Dorne. It couldn't even be conquered with dragons.

Impregnable castles like Harrenhall and the Eyrie were conquered with Aegon's dragons. Dorne was and is unbent, unbowed, unbroken.

Dorne was never attempted to be conquered with dragons. Rhaenys was on her way to conquer Dorne during Aegon's conquest but she was needed elsewhere so she never actually attacked Dorne. And later the Martell's married into the Targaryen dynasty thus making sure they would never be attacked by the Targaryen's.

[thecryptile]

The Andals only took the Eyrie because "the Winged Knight, Ser Artys Arryn, drove the First Men from the Vale and flew to the top of the Giant’s Lance on a huge falcon to slay the Griffin King." You need air support to take the Vale.

[Woftis]

The Andals invaded the Vale by sea. That body of water you see bordering the Vale is the Narrow Sea.

I stand corrected.

Was this before the Eyrie was built? I assume they now have man-made defences to counter this, but obviously that's not what the OP is about. Edit: Scratch that.

So it looks like this argument boils down to the Bloody Gate vs Moat Caitlin, but since it's a debate about natural defences we have to bin both :P

[King of Winters]

So it looks like this argument boils down to the Bloody Gate vs Moat Caitlin, but since it's a debate about natural defences we have to bin both :P

Moat Cailin is partly natural defence because of the swamps around it that make it hard to breach.