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Hyrule is a vast land, with abundant nature. Mountains and forests, rivers and plains, and towns make up the landscapes of the land.
The original map of Hyrule. This part of Hyrule is the area south of Death Mountain. There are no towns here, but there is a graveyard to the west, and some people live in caves.
The known land of Hyrule from LoZ has been reduced to a tiny portion of the AoL map. Hyrule is a vast country, separated down the middle by an ocean. Death Mountain is along the south-east coast of the western continent. It's separated from the northern continent by a river.
The northern part of the western continent holds a shrine (the Northern Palace), a few towns, and varying terrains including forests, deserts, mountains, and swamplands. The south-east section of this land is covered by an enormous graveyard.
To the east is a smaller continent. Its terrain is equally diverse as its western neighbor.
In Valiant's non-canon comic book, a map of Hyrule shows the LoZ map and the AoL maps as the same size, with the sequel's map north of the original's. Because of this, the small area south of Death Mountain on AoL's map (which represents LoZ's map) appears just above the LoZ map.
ALttP focuses on a different section of Hyrule, with Hyrule Castle in the center. To the north-west lies the Lost Woods, and east of it Hebra Mountain (called "Death Mountain" in the English version [1]. West of Hyrule Castle is the village of Kakariko, and far east is the Eastern Palace. Along the south, from west to east, are the Desert of Mystery, the Great Swamp, and Lake Hylia.
As with ALttP, the section of Hyrule in Ocarina of Time includes Hyrule Castle. However, this is a different map of Hyrule than the one used in ALttP.
In OoT's Hyrule, the land is spread around an open field, with a ranch at the center of the field. Hyrule Castle is to the north, and to the east of the castle lies the Death Mountain range and Zora's Domain. Eastern Hyrule is home to the Lost Woods and Kokiri Forest. To the west is the Gerudo Valley, which leads to the southern Lake Hylia.
The Hyrule of OoT has been submerged under water. By the end of WW, the search begins for a new land to call Hyrule.
A considerably small Hyrule is in TMC. The map centers around Hyrule Town, with Link's house just south of the town, and Hyrule Castle to the north. West of the castle is the Royal Valley graveyard, and further is Mt. Crenel.
South of Mr. Crenel is the swampland called Caster Wilds, and the Wind Ruins are south of there. Between the swamp and Hyrule Town is the Trilby Highlands.
East of Link's house are the Eastern Hills and the Minish Woods. Just north from these are Lon Lon Ranch and Lake Hylia, the latter getting its water from the northern Veil Falls. Also, the Wind Tribe have made a home upon the Cloud Tops over Hyrule.
Scrolls left by the Hylian people tell the creation of Hyrule. According to these scrolls, three golden goddesses -- Din, Nayru, and Farore -- came from a distant nebula, and descended upon a chaotic land of Hyrule, and there they created order and life. The goddess of power, Din, dyed the mountains red with fire, thus creating land. The goddess of wisdom, Nayru, created science and wizardry, bringing order to nature. Through justice and vigor, the goddess of courage, Farore, created life, from the animals crawling the land to the birds soaring in the sky.
The gods, finishing their work, left. Behind, they left the Triforce, a symbold of their strength.
The NES versions speak of Hyrule as a "little kingdom" and a "little kingdom of Hyrule". The legend of Zelda passed down by Impa says Hyrule long ago used to be "one country", and the same instruction booklet (AoL) labels Hyrule as "vast".
In the OoT manual, Hyrule is spoken of as the home of the Hylians as well as other races, including the Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudo.
"A long, long time ago the World was in an age of Chaos. In the middle of this chaos, in a little kingdom in the land of Hyrule ..." (LoZ Manual)
"... Link remained in the little kingdom of Hyrule and lent his hand to its restoration." (AoL Manual)
"It is said that long ago, when Hyrule was one country, a great ruler maintained the peace in Hyrule using the Triforce." (Impa, AoL Manual)
"The Triforce of Courage is hidden in the Great Palace in the Valley of Death on the largest island in Hyrule." (Impa, AoL Manual)
"The vast Hyrule is the stage for the Adventure." (AoL Manual)
"Hyrule is a land rich in beauty. In addition to the Hylians, many diverse groups of people dwell in this country." (N64 Manual)
The Japanese name for Hyrule is "HAIRARU." This is simply "Hyrule" transliterated into katakana. Compare with "HAIRIA" (Hylia).