The Hallelujah Mountains (Na'vi name: "Thundering Rocks") are floating islands that circulate slowly in the magnetic currents like icebergs at sea, scraping against each other and the towering mesa-like mountains of the region. On Pandora, huge outcroppings of Unobtainium rip loose from the surface and float in the magnetic vortices due to the Meissner Effect.
The entire area is sacred to the Na'vi. They are the staging ground for Iknimaya, a treacherous but fundamental rite of passage in which a young Na'vi must select, capture, and successfully bond with one of the ikran (Banshees) who nest there. This poses a problem for the humans who have come to mine them for their mineral wealth. The mountains float like clouds among the fixed mountains and swirling cloud structures. When they are in clear sunlight they cast distinct shadows on the land below.
more after the Jump...
more after the Jump...
