Sword Coast

The Sword Coast, not to be confused with the Sword Coast North, stretched along the Sea of Swords from Waterdeep down to the river Chionthar at Baldur's Gate in the south. The Sword Coast took its name from the white cliffs that rose up sharply for hundreds of miles along the coastline, from Baldur's Gate to the south and up to the River Dessarin in the north.

Officially, the coast line north of Waterdeep up to Icewind Dale was not part of the Sword Coast, though most folk simply used the term Sword Coast for this otherwise unnamed stretch of coast line.

The Sword Coast region comprised the land from the coast to some distance inward, covering what were sometimes called the "Empty Lands". This area stretched from Waterdeep to Amn in the south, and included the cities and towns of Baldur's Gate, Berdusk, Beregost, Daggerford, Elturel, Hill's Edge, Iriaebor, Nashkel, and Scornubel, as well as the Friendly Arm Inn and Candlekeep. It was a strategic location, encompassing the main caravan trade route to the Inner Sea.

Volothamp Geddarm reported that the Sword Coast was named after the hazards one encountered there, both human and bestial.