The Meneltarma, or Pillar of Heaven, was the great central peak of the land of Númenor. At its base, it broke into five low ridges, each of which ran out towards one of the five peninsula regions of the land. These ridges were known to the Númenóreans as the Tarmasundar ('Roots of the Pillar').

Between the five Roots lay five shallow valleys, of which the southernmost was chosen as the final resting place of the Rulers of Númenor. The tombs of these Kings and Queens were carved into the mountain's base, and the whole valley became known as Noirinan, the Valley of the Tombs. Along the ridge that marked the valley's western side (that is, the southwestern Root) ran the road that led up to the summit of the Pillar of Heaven itself.