Wiruin was a great whirlpool located in a bay near where the Helkaraksë jutted out from the western mainland.[1] It only appears within The Book of Lost Tales.
It was a fearsome eddy which shrieked with a loud wailing noise that was terrible to hear; anything that approached was sucked down into its depths and crushed upon ice and rock.[1]
When the Noldoli on their Exile reached the Helkaraksë, some elected to attempt to sail across the sea rather than cross the frozen isthmus. In this, a great ship was lost with all aboard by being sucked into Wiruin. The Noldoli were therefore forced to cross by land.[1]
See also