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For more information about Utah, see Utah on Wikipedia. |
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Utah was a state of the pre-War United States of America, mentioned multiple times in the Fallout series.
Background
Inhabited for tens of thousands of years before the arrival of European colonists, Utah was originally colonized by the Kingdom of Spain, later becoming a part of Mexico's independent territory before being eventually integrated into the growing nation of the United States in the 19th century. The state hosted an enormous population of Mormons, being the only one of all 50 states to have the majority of its population belong to a single religion. US military interest in the state seemingly was limited to installing subterranean bunkers acting as storage for munitions and weapons including one near the town of Spanish Fork that received a supply of .45 Auto submachine guns.[1][2]
On the day of the Great War, several cities in Utah were targeted by nuclear weapons; the capital, Salt Lake City received no less than thirteen direct strikes, with the remains described as "a sea of fire and destruction."[3] Like most former hubs of civilization following the nuclear apocalypse, scavengers picked over the city ruins and took what they could for years after,[4] including still-intact pieces of pre-War law enforcement gear.[5] Some areas like Fountain Green may have maintained a degree of human habitation, but the circumstances of post-apocalypse living likely pushed any survivors into resorting to acts of cannibalism.[6]
One exception to this was the city of Ogden. The hub of Mormon living was ruined like most of the rest of America, but the community's robust spirit and generational ties allowed them to persevere, rebuilding and eventually founding the settlement of New Canaan. Over subsequent generations, it became a powerful force in the north well into the 23rd century, to the point they allegedly controlled vast lengths of the trade routes running through the lands north of the Mojave Wasteland.[7]
By the mid-23rd century, the marauding army of Caesar's Legion had made headway into Utah, conquering and assimilating (or eradicating) the wild tribes to grow their numbers,[8] including the tribe of the one who would be named Vulpes Inculta, future leader of the Legion's frumentarii.[9] Independent raider tribes were also known to exist, including the White Legs inhabiting the Great Salt Lake and the 80s who claimed long stretches of the namesake Interstate 80; their proximity to valuable trade routes, coupled with the gradual pullback of defensive measures like the New California Republic Rangers around the turn of the 2280s meant most caravan groups avoided large swaths of the territory, considering it more dangerous than even the core regions of Legion territory.[10][11][12]
A few tribes were able to still live independently well into the 23rd century either due to circumstance or the fortune of peaceful surroundings, as was the case, respectively, with the Dead Horses from the namesake Dead Horse Point and the Sorrows within Zion Canyon.
Locations
- Dead Horse Point
- Fountain Green
- Grand Staircase
- Great Salt Lake
- Interstate 80
- Nephi
- New Canaan (pre-2281)
- Provo Bay
- Rockville
- Route 9
- Salt Lake City
- Spanish Fork
- Toquerville
- Utah State Route 77
- Zion Canyon
Appearances
A portion of Utah appears in Fallout: New Vegas, while the area of Zion Canyon in the state serves as the setting for its add-on Honest Hearts. It also indirectly appears in the Fallout TV series.
References
- ↑ The Courier: "Nice guns."
Joshua Graham: "In the Great Basin and Colorado Plateau, all tribes are known for a specific weapon. White Legs are known for their big submachine guns, 'storm drums.' They broke into an armory near Spanish Fork and have been using them for years. Of course, the Dead Horses have their wooden war clubs and even the Sorrows have their Yao Guai gauntlets. This type of .45 Automatic pistol was designed by one of my tribe almost four hundred years ago. Learning its use is a New Canaanite rite of passage."
(Joshua Graham's dialogue) - ↑ Utah license plate render
- ↑ Year: 2077
- ↑ Year: 2084
- ↑ Joshua Graham's armor includes a pre-War ballistic vest marked "SLCPD"
- ↑ Year: 2084
- ↑ The Courier: "Does the Crimson Caravan have any competition?"
Alice McLafferty: "Well, the Gun Runners continue to dominate the weapons market, and the Mormon traders from New Canaan control the majority of the northern routes."
(Alice McLafferty's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "And since forming the Legion, all you've done is conquer other tribes?"
Caesar: "That's right. Decades of warfare, absorbing lesser tribes, gathering power. Forging the dross into a vast, razor-sharp scythe. My Legion's expansion has never ceased. Much of the Utah and Colorado, and all of Arizona and New Mexico, are mine. We have cities of our own, but nothing compared to Vegas. Finally, my Legion will have its Rome."
(Caesar's dialogue) - ↑ Caesar: "Vulpes is the best of my Frumentarii. A remarkable individual from an unremarkable tribe south of the Utah."
(Caesar's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "I haven't been through Utah recently - what's the situation like?"
Jed Masterson: "Well, it ain't good, I'll tell you that. It's not like the Mojave or the NCR - hell, even Arizona under Caesar is safer. You got raiders all over the damn place, tribes of degenerates that'll eat you as soon as look at you, regional warlords... the works. Not too many decent places to stop and trade. New Canaan's one of the only ones left I know about."
(Jed Masterson's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Degenerate tribes?"
Jed Masterson: "That's right. The folks that lived in Zion before the war, they didn't just get a little savage, they're downright feral. Most of them don't even speak English anymore - you got to get yourself a New Canaanite translator to talk to them. The ones you really got to watch out for are the White Legs, from the Great Salt Lake. They'll attack just about anyone that ain't one of theirs."
(Jed Masterson's dialogue) - ↑ The Courier: "Were the 80s a gang, or a tribe?"
Stella: "What's the difference? Raiders is raiders. Bunch of them swept in to town and dragged off two working girls. Deputies and me gave pursuit, straight into 80s territory. By the time we caught up with the girls, there wasn't much left of them. So we turned for home. Made it back to Caliente without further losses, but we was watched the whole way. Never seen so few people cover so much land. Goddamn creepy. If the 80s had wanted to kill us, we would've been dead. Guess they figured we weren't worth the trouble."
(Stella's dialogue (Honest Hearts))
Non-game