Megaton

, although small, is one of the larger settlements in the Capital Wasteland. It's built in an old crater, containing a undetonated Atom bomb, mainly made up from old airplane parts.
 * It's probably the first town the player will encounter after leaving the vault.

Location
Megaton is south of Springvale and west of Grayditch, on the border of the wasteland northwest of the urban DC areas.
 * The easiest way to get here is straight southeast from Vault 101. You can also go east to Springvale, and straight south from there.

Origin and History
Megaton was built by an allied group of wasteland drifters out of pieces of metal found nearby at a decimated Washington Dulles International Airport. They were aided by the Children of the Atom, who worshiped the unexploded bomb in the crater they were building around.

Related quests

 * Following in His Footsteps The central storyline of Fallout 3.
 * The Power of the Atom - A side-quest in Megaton that revolves around disarming or detonating the bomb landing you your first wasteland apartment.
 * The Wasteland Survival Guide - Moira Brown, the owner of the local general shop Craterside Supply gives this mission.
 * Fix broken pipes around Megaton - Talk to Walter to start this mini quest.
 * Blood Ties - Lucy West will ask you to deliver a letter to her family in Arefu.
 * Stahl's addiction
 * You can start The Replicated Man quest, if you go up to Craterside Supply on a table behind the desk by the door there is a holotape along with a pistol and radaway. If you sneak into the Megaton Clinic's backroom there is a holotape by a computer there starting the quest aswell.



Notable loot

 * Inside Lucas Simms' House, on the desk in the second most bedroom on the second floor is the Vault Boy Bobblehead of Strength (Be sure to collect this before destroying the city if you intend to do so).
 * A Grognak the Barbarian in Jericho's house.
 * A Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual can be found on a shelf in a ruined house at the top of the hill between Megaton and the Super-Duper Mart. The house is next to a big, rusty, domed silo.
 * A "Hollowed Out Rock" located south-southwest of Megaton contains a sniper rifle, ammo, stealth boy, and stimpacks. Look for 3 stubby trees surrounding a small rock. See this  video for details.

Bugs

 * When entering Megaton, the game occasionally places characters in a starting position that is adjacent to (rather than on) the walkways or balconies, causing those characters to fall to their deaths. Walter is particularly prone to this problem, as his starting position is often supposed to be leaning against the railing outside of his workplace.   (The bugs noted below may also be a result of this glitch.)  Characters who die this way can be resurrected using the console (click on the character's body and type 'resurrect').


 * There is a bug where the praying Confessor Cromwell will die unexpectedly. His death does not affect any quests. It's possible that this is intentional, as the water, like all other sources of water in the game, is highly radioactive.


 * There is another bug where Nathan might be found dead in the Radioactive Water. When this happens you will not be able to talk to Manya anymore as all she will do is talk about her missing Nathan.