Glowing Sea

The Glowing Sea is a region of the Commonwealth in 2287. As a whole, the area is the largest highly irradiated area resulting from the detonation of a single nuclear device in any of the Fallout series.

Background
Originally the communities southwest of Boston proper, the area southwest of the end of the southern freeway connected to Mass Pike Interchange was ground zero for a massive nuclear detonation during the Great War. Not technically a "sea," the territory is rather a large isolated zone of heavily irradiated landscape. Most of the Glowing Sea consists of scorched earth spotted with radioactive ponds, charred trees, wrecked cars, and heaps of rubble. The few remaining buildings that weren't reduced to thinly-spread debris are half-buried by landslides and sinkholes. Rain clouds that pass over the Glowing Sea become irradiated, spreading radiation to other parts of the Commonwealth wasteland in the form of rad storms.

Despite these dangers, the Glowing Sea does harbor life, including humans. At the center of the region is a settlement known as the Crater of Atom, occupied by humans from the Church of the Children of Atom. The sickly greenish-yellow glow emitting from the crater can be seen from far across the Commonwealth. Southwest of the Glowing Sea, outside the boundaries of the map, is the rocky cave, inhabited by Virgil.

Layout
The Glowing Sea is extremely dangerous, and should not be explored at a low level or without adequate supplies and protection. The entire region is heavily irradiated, causing at least 10 rads/second in most areas, killing unprotected players in less than two minutes. Drinking water from local sources in the Glowing Sea inflicts 10 rads rather than the normal 3 rads, and immersion in open water inflicts 20 rads/second rather than the normal 10 rads/second. To survive, one should bring an ample supply of RadAway and Rad-X to minimize exposure. Further protection can be achieved by wearing rad-resistant armor, such as power armor or a hazmat suit (though power armor gives better protection from enemy attacks). Completing The Secret of Cabot House by siding with Lorenzo Cabot will grant access to an unlimited supply of Mysterious serum, which heals 10 rads/second for one hour.

Perhaps more dangerous than the radiation is the local wildlife, as only the hardiest creatures can survive in this hostile environment: packs of deathclaws, radscorpions, and mutant insects such as bloatflies, bloodbugs, and stingwings roam the wastes, attacking anything in their path. Useful resources (such as food, chems, and ammo) are scarce in this hellish landscape, although the various ruins and wrecked vehicles scattered about the area contain modest amounts of loot. These ruins hold their own dangers, however, in the form of large packs of feral ghouls and the occasional mole rat swarm.

Locations

 * Atlantic Offices, north-northeast of the Crater of Atom and west-northwest of the capsized factory.
 * Capsized factory, northeast of the Crater of Atom and east-southeast of the Atlantic Offices.
 * Caves, with the northern cave underneath a road near a Red Rocket station northeast of the capsized factory, and the southern cave beyond the edge of the map southwest of the Vertibird wreckage.
 * Crater of Atom, southwest corner of the map.
 * Decayed reactor site, beyond the edge of the map, west-northwest of the Crater of Atom.
 * Decrepit factory, beyond the edge of the map, southwest of the Crater of Atom.
 * Edge of the Glowing Sea, northeast edge of the area, north of the Hopesmarch Pentecostal church.
 * Federal supply cache 84NE, northeast of Federal Surveillance Center K-21B.
 * Federal Surveillance Center K-21B, northwest of the Atlantic Offices. The underground facility is accessed through an abandoned shack on the surface.
 * Forgotten church, beyond the edge of the map, west of Federal Surveillance Center K-21B.
 * Hopesmarch Pentecostal church, north of the Vertibird wreckage.
 * O'Neill Family Manufacturing, beyond the edge of the map, southwest of Skylanes Flight 1665 and north of the Sentinel site.
 * Parking garage, an unmarked location just north of the southern cave.
 * Red Rocket (Glowing Sea), an unmarked location just northwest of the northern cave.
 * Relay tower 0DB-521, east-southeast of the Vertibird wreckage.
 * Rocky cave, beyond the edge of the map, southwest of the Crater of Atom.
 * Sentinel site, beyond the edge of the map, south of O'Neill Family Manufacturing.
 * Skylanes Flight 1665, beyond the edge of the map, northeast of O'Neill family Manufacturing and south of the Vertibird wreckage.
 * Vertibird wreckage, west-northwest of Relay tower 0DB-521.

Notable loot

 * Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue #10 - Sentinel site.
 * Astoundingly Awesome Tales issue #13 - Crater of Atom.
 * Tesla Science Magazine issue #3 - Rocky cave.
 * U.S. Covert Operations Manual issue #4 - Federal Surveillance Center K-21B.
 * Gauss rifle - Skylanes Flight 1665 (if the player character is at least level 32 and has the Locksmith perk at rank 3).
 * Virgil's rifle - Rocky cave.
 * Leveled set of power armor - Federal Surveillance Center K-21B.
 * Raider power armor with fusion core - Southern cave.
 * Fusion core - Atlantic Offices.
 * Six Vault-Tec lunchboxes - Federal Surveillance Center K-21B (two), rocky cave (one), Sentinel site (three).
 * Three mini nukes - Federal Surveillance Center K-21B (one), rocky cave (one), Sentinel site (one).
 * Two Stealth Boys - Federal Surveillance Center K-21B (one), rocky cave (one).
 * Nuka-Cherry - Federal supply cache 84NE.
 * Sentry bot model - O'Neill Family Manufacturing.

Appearances
The Glowing Sea only appears in Fallout 4.