Vista was a part of the atmosphere surrounding the world of Arda before the cataclysm at the end of the Second Age. It formed the inner layer of normal air: above it was Ilmen, and above that Vaiya.
Vista is the breathable air; within the top part are the clouds, and in the lower parts are the paths of birds.
In Quenya, Vista means "Inner Air". It comes from the stem wis ("air").
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Introduction
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 4: The Shaping of Middle-earth, V: "The Ambarkanta"
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 5: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"