Bannister Crater

The Bannister crater is an unmarked location in Fallout 3, to the east of Fort Bannister.

Layout
The entire area is pockmarked with craters, a favorite resting place for radscorpions. While the small craters hold nothing of value, the massive one contains an overturned military truck as well as a safe and a personal footlocker a short distance south of the truck, and some RadAway in front of that safe.

The main crater has also two ditches, or tails, on each side. A crashing plane armed with nuclear weapons or a nuclear payload may have caused the ditches, with a large piece of debris sliding through the dirt forming the other ditch. Another suggestion is that a U.S. military bomber leaving to bomb China may have been struck by an EMP emitted by a nuclear weapon and crashed, resulting in the crater. There may have also been an alien craft crash, or some alien activity, given the presence of the alien power cells.

After The Waters of Life, an Enclave detachment will establish an outpost overlooking the large crater. This camp usually consists of several Enclave soldiers, an Enclave officer and an automated turret. A single Enclave scientist will be investigating the truck at the bottom.

Notable loot

 * 96 alien power cells are located beneath the truck here, as if they were spilled out of it.
 * The Enclave detachment that spawns after The Waters of Life includes one Enclave soldier carrying a Fat Man, with a mini nuke.

Appearances
Bannister crater appears only in Fallout 3.