The Shire is a region of Eriador in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
Eriador is the broad northwestern part of Middle-earth, lying between the Blue Mountains and the Misty Mountains. It contains the Shire, Bree-land, Rivendell, and the ruins of Arnor. The Shire is therefore a land within Eriador, not a synonym for the whole region.
Tolkien’s maps show the Shire in the northwest of Eriador, west of the Old Forest and north of the main road. Hobbits settled there after leaving the valley of the Anduin, and the area later became their best-known homeland. Hobbiton and Michel Delving are among its notable places.
Eriador is sometimes confused with Gondor or Rhovanion because all are major geographical regions in Tolkien’s world. Gondor lies farther south, while Rhovanion is generally the wide region east of the Misty Mountains. Mordor is a separate land much farther southeast.