Karak Izor, or "Copper Mountain" as humans call it, is considered the biggest and most important Dwarf kingdom in the south of the Old World, as a result of being built on a glacier-bound mountain that contains vast quantities of copper and other assorted minerals. The mountain the hold is built on is a part of a chain of mountains known as the Vaults. The Vaults consist of deep, ice-cut valleys, frozen glaciers and towering heights and form the junction between the Black Mountains and the Grey Mountains. The valleys and chasms are so difficult to reach that few evil creatures bother the Dwarfs of these highland areas, and Karak Izor has been generally left alone over the years, allowing the Dwarfs to spread out and colonize the surrounding mountains and valleys. Rich lodes of iron, copper, tin and other metals can be found here and consequently some of the biggest and deepest mine workings outside the Worlds Edge Mountains. Some particularly adventurous dwarf kings have even colonized the mountainside glaciers of the surrounding mountains, carving stout cities out of ice. These mountains were a haven to the many Dwarf clans that came after the fall of their strongholds in the east, including many from the Dragonback Clan. The clans mostly settled in the valleys and founded kingdoms-in-exile that were largely independent from Karak Izor. These "valley kingdoms" offered them seclusion from the outside world where they could rebuild, settle, work, remember the past and plan their ultimate return.
Source
- Warhammer Armies: Dwarfs (7th Edition) pg. 26
- Dwarfs: Stone and Steel