charwo Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 (edited) I've wondered for quite a while where the heck the Divide and Big Mountain would be located in real terms. I think I have an answer. Fist, let's look at the needs of NCR and why the loss of the Divide was so crippling just before Hoover Dam. This is because from the California, there are exactly three highway systems to Las Vegas: I-15 from the south, I-95 from the Northwest and Nevada Route 160 from the west. I-15 in game is the last major route open and cleared for road traffic. So both 95 and and 160 are out of commission. Somewhere out west, the routes are blocked by Death Valley, the Divide and and Big MT, which presumably has some kind of interdiction field. While not described in detail, the fact they talk about it like a force field means it's passive, meaning either a force field blocking any advance on one of those two highways or nearby, OR more sensibly and baffling for sensible NCR types, a kind of EMP dead zone that causes robots and vehicles to shut off or power down. This might as well be a force field for semi-modern military formations, ones that depend on trucks for movement and supply. Now, a word: although the dialogue suggests otherwise, all reasonable California approaches to Vegas go through Death Valley. All of them except I-15. So it's tough. The Divide and Big MT must therefore represent chokepoints on 95 and 160 respectively. Any references to Carson Pass are in error: that's just southwest of Reno, several hundred miles out of the way. And there are several roads, going through Death Valley, and they're too many and spread to be blocked completely. So let's start with the Divide: it has two highway systems, one going east west, and a highway going north, but not south. The only highway interchange like that within a hundred miles westerly of Vegas is modern-day Pahrump, Nevada. You can see why if the area ever got developed why they might considering changing the name to something a little hoity, like Ashton. Hopeville is the base town, almost certainly a closed one. It also is a mid-sized city of 36,000 people. Where a massive ballistic defense complex built there, the population could easily treble given contractors and such. As a bonus, in game travel time is either two or three days from Primm to the Divide, which the Courier walks. It's 70 miles from Primm to Pahrump on foot. If I recall my Roman history correct, on a good road, was 25 miles a day. A good courier could probably average maybe 30. So it fits there too. As for Big Mt, to cut off 95 and still be in (what was in modern times) a mountain, it needs to be in the mountains south of Beatty Nevada (36°46'38.6"N 116°38'41.4"W), with a field of effect going some 10-15 miles in circumference to block the northern terminus of Nevada 373 or at another clump of mountains by the north side of 95, just before it begins it's southward decent into Vegas (36°35'54.4"N 115°47'33.3"W). In either case, the big puddle in the middle of 95 just north of Brook's Tumbleweed Ranch says to me the NCR never thought of fixing 95, which means the Divide has to be on Nevada 160. The Sierra Madre doesn't have good metrics to be located, but the pip-boy locator indicates it's more west than north of Vegas, and there's a place just north of the tail of Mt. Charleston Wilderness Area that is a perfect little valley to remain hidden and trap the Cloud in punchbowl. See coordinates: 36°25'59.4"N 115°47'55.3"W, set zoom for 2 mi. Thoughts? Edited February 16, 2014 by charwo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingwilfre16 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 my thoughts are you could map the fallout world, giving us areas to put new towns in via mods, and allowing us to create as much of a lore friendly version of the NCR and Legion lands for everyone on the nexus to explore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelticpete Posted February 19, 2014 Share Posted February 19, 2014 color me impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reve23 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Nice! Ive always wondered where they were and this seems very plausible:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarchUntoTorment Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 That's awesome! I really like the idea. The more realism put into Fallout, the better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tizerist Posted March 9, 2014 Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) I've always said that the south-bound rail track next to the south-facing OWB projector in this pichttp://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg160/tizerist/FOtunneltest1_zpsf9e3b341.jpgis the other side of the north-bound rail track in Big Mountain.http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg160/tizerist/FOtunneltest2_zpsc26c9eca.jpgIt even has an similar brown terrain preventing you from peeping over. Both tunnels are at the edge of their maps. It totally looks like the same tunnel. And this is a rough overview of where I think things are.http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg160/tizerist/FOMAP6_zps19cc4554.jpg Edited March 9, 2014 by tizerist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charwo Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 The problem with that placement is that The Divide and the Big Empty block all the routes into Clark County from California. Except for the I-15. Which means one needs to block one interstate, and the other blocks the other. It is mentioned canonically these and Death Valley are way 15 is the only way in or out. This fact is also critical for Ulysses counting on one strike on the 15 to cut off the Mohave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tizerist Posted March 18, 2014 Share Posted March 18, 2014 Have to throw my hands up and say I don't know to that. My knowledge of USA geography is like your geographical knowledge of Pluto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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