The Shimmering Flats was at the southeastern end of Thousand Needles, on the border with Tanaris. The area was an open expanse devoid of any vegetation and home to various varieties of, among other things, basilisks, scorpids, tortoises and vultures. The area was a dried lakebed, as evidenced by the wrecked sailing vessel in the northern part. Although the flats are somewhat spartan, many find the sense of loneliness and silence give the area a unique beauty, and the Mirage Raceway in the middle of such a lonely place gives a strange sense of the surreal.