Capital Wasteland

The Capital Wasteland is the general name given to the ruins of Washington, D.C. and the region surrounding it. It stretches from Raven Rock in the northwest to Rivet City in the southeast, with what's left of the Potomac River dividing the Wasteland roughly in two.

Background
Before the Great War, this area was part of the Columbia Commonwealth and contained the District of Columbia as well as the major cities of Arlington, Annandale, Bethesda, Springvale, Germantown, and Olney. During the events of 2077, the city of Washington, D.C. was hit by a bombardment of nuclear bombs that completely destroyed the city, and irradiated the surrounding area. Being the Capital, it was hit with many more bombs than most of the country, and by comparison to the west coast, the DC area is mostly rubble and ruins. Only a few buildings, mostly landmarks due to there more precise building techniques used, remain in the area. The primary method of getting around DC is the Metro system, thanks to the roads and streets literally being blocked completely by towering walls of rubble. However, the Virginia area of the wasteland is more open due to the fact that there were fewer buildings there in the first place. Therefore there isn't much rubble and it is much easier to travel across.

Some missiles in this bombardment also targeted nearby Fort Bannister. Not only did the fort suffer a nearly direct hit, the bombs also decimated the surrounding countryside, an area that as of 2277 is a lifeless and barren desert on the western edge of the Wasteland that contains large pockets of radiation. Some stray bombs fell off course and hit the countryside not doing much damage but still irradiating the surrounding areas.

The nuclear holocaust turned the residents of Bethesda into a savage tribe of raiders living breeding and hunting in the ruins of Bethesda, Olney became Old Olney, an area that was a town right after the war but the surrounding countryside had not enough supplies to support them all so most moved away and the place became a big deathclaw breeding ground. Annandale has become Andale, a town of inbred cannibals. Arlington is nothing more than Mama Dolce's and the national cemetery sourounded by pocket of open ground only accessible by the metro tunnels, Springvale is a burnt down looted pre-war town, and Germantown is now a home for super mutants using the area to capture locals for transforming them into mutants.

Many historic landmarks of the former United States of America such as the Capitol Building, the Museum of Technology, the Museum of American History, and the National Mall are now super mutant infested ruins or, like the White House, just radioactive craters. However, new towns such as Megaton, Rivet City, Tenpenny Tower, Underworld, and Little Lamplight, as well as smaller settlements: the Republic of Dave, Oasis, Big Town, Arefu, Andale, the Temple of the Union, Canterbury Commons, and Girdershade, have since risen out of the ashes of war. The people of the Wasteland barely have enough supplies to scratch out a living, seeing as the only agriculture being mut fruit and lab grown plants, such as potatoes and carrots. The towns mainly survive off of brahmin meat, milk, and squirrel and iguanas. Hunters also provide the locals with meat from various other parts of the Wasteland, and a small amount of fish from the Potomac river. Also, a large amount of food comes from scavengers inside the DC area who scavenge pre-war food. Food is traded between the Capital Wasteland and Point Lookout, Maryland where many merchants in the wasteland can be found to have Punga Fruit, which is only native to the swamplands of Point Lookout. Tobar the Ferryman used to trade this fruit with the local merchants.

The most influential factions of the region include the East Coast Brotherhood of Steel, with their base camp located in the Citadel, built into and beneath the ruins of the Pentagon, the Enclave, who secluded themselves in Raven Rock, and a lot of people believe that their radio broadcast is just a pre-recorded pre-war tape stuck on a loop. Super Mutants, emerging from Vault 87, that overrun most of the Downtown DC and Arlington areas, as well as much of the wasteland. Slavers, operating from Paradise Falls, Brotherhood Outcasts of Fort Independence who left the B.O.S. to continue what they believe to be their mission, the Talon Company mercenaries, base at the ruins of Fort Bannister, and various Raider tribes, who have numerous small camps and nomadic tribes in the area, the largest being Evergreen Mills.

Environment
The DC area got hit more severely then the west coast, due to its military and political areas and the fact it does not have a defense system against nuclear attacks. As a result, the local inhabitants are far more hostile and only are friendly to members of their group as in the many raider tribes. Pockets of radiation are far more frequent and in higher concentrations. purified Water is extremely scarce and so is any kind of fresh food. There is little flora and most of the trees are the dead husks of trees that were alive before the Great War. The buildings in the DC ruins have been hit the hardest structurally as most are either completely destroyed, are falling apart, literally falling into each other or just barely standing. There are rarely any clouds in the sky (if any) and there is never any rainfall. Any functional buildings are either a constant war-zone or are heavily fortified by a group of wastelanders, mostly in the the south east section of the wastelands. most of the north and south parts of the wasteland is far more habitable but doesnt have enough pre war resources to support many people so only hermits, raiders, wastelander families still inhabit the area

Inhabitants
The Capital Wasteland is a nearly inhospitable and violent area. It is not uncommon to find dead bodies that have been victims of Raiders or desperate wastelanders. Few materials that are encountered are freshly manufactured in any way and scavenging or trading is the only reliable mean of find materials to survive. Traders are typically found all over the wasteland and sell their wears to travelers, most commonly in the DC ruins and metro tunnels. Slavery is a common occurrence as it is fairly easy, pays large amounts of caps, slaves are always needed and is easy for someone to quickly gain powerful weapons. Groups of marauders called Raiders attack unsuspecting or weak travelers using tactics similar to guerilla warfare. The raiders pride in strength, attack anyone who is weak and their favorite pastime is torture and killing.

Drug use is still a common occurrence in The Capital Wasteland. In fact, its one of the few things that are being freshly produced along with medicinal drugs for medical needs though they are pretty expensive.

Murder is a common occurrence as well. Either because a person needs to kill another in order to get a precious scrap of food or water, to show a power of dominance or just simply because they don't care about other people's lives (Examples: Mr.Burke, Eulogy Jones, etc).

Super mutants are far more common in the DC area then in the west and as there is little in the way of an effective military, a person must either have extreme luck, be heavily armed or hope they run into a Brotherhood of Steel patrol in order to survive an encounter with a super mutant.

Not all residents of The Capital Wasteland are violent. In fact, there are a fair number of settlements with a population of civil (sometimes unsavory) people (Examples: Megaton, Rivet City, Tenpenny Tower).

Some of the inhabitants even try to keep some form of order in the capitol wasteland. The Regulators seeking out criminals and killing them. The Temple of the Union that try to help runaway slaves. The Brotherhood of Steel contains a large portion of the super mutant threat with regular patrols in the DC ruin.

The old world is still prevalent in beyond the bombed out building and radiation. Ghouls are fairly common, partly due to the large pockets of radiation, irradiated food and the large population of people during the Great War. Ghouls, although having better knowledge of the terrain and its technology that has survived, have become the points of ridicule among the various denizens, to the point where one could easily see similarities to racism.

Vegetation
There are 3 types of flowers: Trees: Some types of trees are distinctive, with the following characteristics:
 * Moss: In Oasis, much of the ground is covered in moss.
 * Flowers: The majority of the flowers found in the Capital Wasteland are in human dwellings and are mostly just for decoration. However, in the Arlington Cemetery, there are three healthy flowers poking out of the soil. There is also a flowering plant in front of a grave stone in a cemetery to the north of Mama Dolce's. It is purple and white and appears perfectly healthy.
 * Pansies: A cluster of 3-4 purple/white pansies with a few leaves.
 * Daffodils: Long, slender leaves with 2-3 trumpet shaped yellow flowers.
 * Hollyhock: A spire of pink flowers with a few leaves at the base.
 * Leafless: A trunk with a mass of leafless branches.
 * Pine tree: A spire of leafless branches.
 * Willow tree: Drooping, low-hanging branches.
 * Mangrove tree: Lots of roots with thin trunks and a few branches.
 * Grass: Most wasteland grass is a sickly brown color, but some is normal and green.
 * Bushes: The bushes provide little cover from fighting, but they do provide concealment, making them a nuisance in VATS as they can cause hit percentages to drop to 0%.
 * Mutfruit: There are two types of mutfruit: crunchy and regular. Mutfruit looks like a blue bloated version of a raspberry, and crunchy mutfruit looks like a brown peach with some glowing red-pink patches. The only source of mutfruits is through traders and some stores, and have never been found growing in the wild.
 * Fresh fruits and vegetables: The fresh fruit and vegetables of the wasteland can be found in the Arlington Public Library beside a trash can in a bathroom and in the Rivet City science lab. Dialogue with various characters throughout Rivet City reveals that they have a hydroponics lab. In which case, the scientists have been engineering pre-war plants to grow with their roots systems in purified water rather than the irradiated soil of the Wasteland.
 * Glowing fungus: The green, glowing mushrooms that are found in the Capital Wasteland. Found in most caves, metros, sewers, and other damp, dark places. Often found at sites of radiation. The Deathclaw Sanctuary and Little Lamplight have multiple formations of this fungus. This fungus has also been seen in blue and yellow-orange.
 * Brain-like fungus: A fungus that resembles a mass of brains. Found in many caves, as well as damp places, and near outcroppings of rocks in the Wasteland. The fungus shares characteristics with live tissue because, when attacked by a weapon, blood flies.
 * Cave fungus: Cave fungus is found only in the caves of Little Lamplight. It is used extensively by the children of Little Lamplight. The fungus is believed to have grown out of the bodies of deceased adults within the caves. The fungus thrives on Strange meat. The fungus soaks up radiation and replenishes lost health. It also acts as a food source for the children, but it supposedly does not taste very good. Cave fungus is eaten on a spit.

Appearances
The Capital Wasteland only appears in Fallout 3.

Other Maps
Planet Fallout interactive map - This is an interactive map showing everything, including locations, items, and easter eggs. The helpfulness of this all-in-one approach is a mixed bag, as all of the locations entered tend to overlap. Though it provides a multitude of options to focus the search results, the displayed markers tend to be less than comprehensive, save for the most common points of interest and important items such as bobbleheads or skill books.

The Vault Fallout 3 Location map - This is a map which only provides locations, though it does provide the location of the alien crash site. It also provides the correct coordinates and more detailed locations. Use this if the first one is too big.

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