Tanaris (aka The Tanaris Desert) is a desert located in Southern Kalimdor, east of Un'Goro Crater and south of Thousand Needles. It is an arid land, covered in sand dunes and frequently exposed to dangerous sandstorms. The Steamwheedle Cartel goblins have established Steamwheedle Port and Gadgetzan as their main centers of operation. The dock in Steamwheedle Port is presumably used for transport to the outer islands of the Undermine, the goblin capital, but so far the goblins have proved unwilling to share the ships with the other races.

Tanaris is one of the easiest regions to travel around, being mostly flat sands with a few rocky outcrops, but it is also monotonus, being sparsely populated due to its harsh environment. There are also no roads (or even well-trodden paths) and heavy reliance is placed on the guiding system.

While mostly populated by Horde factions, the region is so barren that it is fairly safe for Alliance members too.

Tanaris has been an endless sea of sand for aeons. Nozdormu, the great dragon of time, was said to make this land his home since time immemorial, thriving in the solitude of oppressive heat and miles of sand.

Tanaris is the ancestral home of the bronze dragonflight based out of the Caverns of Time. The titans also have a holding here in the form of an entrance to the ancient land of Uldum, Whch was once guarded by elite Stone giants. found in the southern parts of the desert. It was here that Anachronos first discovered the full threat of the silithid, who had been making hives in the remote regions of Tanaris. The War of the Shifting Sands was consequently unleashed upon the western land of Silithus.

With the Cataclysm Steamwheedle Port and many parts of Tanaris were flooded making Gadgetzan a port. Some Tanaris goblins wisely invested in desert real estate and reaped the benefits when it became beach-front property.