Kolau Mountains

The Kolau Mountains are a large chain of mountains located in the southwestern Earth Kingdom. The city of Omashu is located here, along with the Cave of Two Lovers. The mountains are revered as the "birthplace of Earthbending".

Geography
Though the northern and western faces of the mountains are lush and surrounded by temperate forests, the south-eastern faces suffer from a perpetual lack of rain. Small coniferous forests cluster at the base of the mountains, while higher up, this gives way to grassy plains which in turn shrink as the mountains get higher. The peaks of the mountains are rocky and arid, with no vegetation at all. Though the city of Omashu is located within the mountain range, there are no other known settlements in the area.

History
The mountains are inscribed in legend as the home of the first two Earthbenders, Oma and Shu, who were lovers from two warring tribes. Despite their peoples' status as enemies, they met on top of the mountain one day by accident. Forbidden from seeing one another, they learned Earthbending from the badgermoles and carved what is now known as the Cave of Two Lovers out of the mountains to continue meeting secretly. When Shu was killed in the war, Oma became distraught with grief, and unleashed a terrible display of her Earthbending powers; however, instead of killing the villagers, she declared the war over. Overcome with a goddess-like reverence for her, the people abandoned their villages and helped her construct a new city on the site of a mountain, where they would live together in peace. The people named the city Omashu as a monument to the pair's faithful love.

Within the context of the events of the series, Avatar Aang and his friends visit the Kolau Mountains three times, all on their way to Omashu.

Trivia

 * The name of this mountain range is similar to the Ko'olau Mountain Range on the Island of Oahu, in Hawaii. The Hawai'ian mountain range however, is actually one large, single extinct volcano.