Mod:DUST Survival Simulator/Mead Canyon

Mead Canyon is a dead lake located in the northeast Mojave Wasteland. Formerly Lake Mead, the reservoir for Hoover Dam, it was drained sometime prior with the Fall due to NCR activity.

Overview
Mead Canyon is a large and highly uninhabitable area, with a large tunneler population and a non-negligible number of feral ghouls. Making matters worse, a person or persons unknown has buried hundreds of landmines across the canyons expanse and set up numerous other booby traps at the few noteworthy locations found therein.

Abandoned NCR Camp
The NCR had established a base camp near the center of Mead Canyon, crafted from parts of an old salvage platform from before the lake dried up. It is believed that they attempted to mount an expedition from here to locate and terminate a prominent anti-NCR terrorist who was believed to be in the area. This attempt ended in failure and the NCR contingent was apparently wiped out to the last. Near the camp's west end are the remains of this expedition, as well as their now broken weapons. While the placement of these remains does have some significance, it is not readily apparent from this perspective. In one of the connected rafts, a Wasteland Survival Guide can be found lying on the floor.

Courier's Overlook
Northwest of the NCR camp, a ramp has been set up to allow access to the top of one of the canyons many rock formations. Following this back to the NCR camp, a survivor will see a lawn chair and the note "Like the view?" which boasts the cryptic warning "You're about to like it even more!". From this perspective, it can be seen that the bodies and weapons of the expedition have been arranged to spell out "FUCK NCR". Loitering at this location is not recommended, as doing so will trigger a cache of mini-nukes buried under a pile of rubble northeast of the message to detonate, flinging the bodies across the canyon and killing or crippling anybody nearby.

Crashed B-29 Bomber
A crashed strategic bomber from before the great war can be found east of the NCR camp. While certain post-war factions are rumored to have had designs on this aircraft, these obviously went unrealized, as the bomber remains where it has been for the past 200 and some years. Underneath the plane's right wing are a pair of dead tunnelers, a very hard locked crate, containing energy weapons, and a note. It was written by someone who knew of the tunnelers' arrival in the Mojave and tried to warn its people, only to be rebuffed. The left wing shields a merchant supply crate, which is protected by a hard lock, and contains many guns alongside ammunition. There is a large concentration of landmines in this area.

The Tomb
Immediately adjacent to the bomber is the entrance to the Tomb, formerly a flooded cave located on the lakebed. A makeshift defensive structure covered with Courier 6 Graffiti holds a ladder that descends into the cave entrance proper, which contains a bear trap, the crucified remains of an unknown person and the eulogy of a courier. There are also a pair of unmarked graves located just outside the entryway containing random items.

Other points of interest
Near the southeast end of the canyon is a slot canyon rigged with pitching machine traps and more landmines. The reward for clearing it is a duffle bag.

South of the bomber are a number of mutilated and crucified NCR troopers, presumably members of the same ill-fated expedition mentioned above.

A crashed pre-war sunset sarsaparilla truck is located on the north end of the canyon. Numerous empty bottles and caps can be found here.

Tactical Considerations
Due to the ubiquity of landmines throughout the canyon, extreme caution should be exercised at all times, as even one landmine is sufficient to severely cripple anyone caught in its blast radius and fatal chain reactions are entirely possible. An explosives skill of 40 allows for the mines to be disarmed manually, though this is still risky as the mines are not readily visible. Visitors to Mead Canyon should consider bringing along a grenade launcher or other AOE weapon in order to detonate clusters of mines from a safe distance. When in doubt, traveling along the rock formations is recommended, as these are not mined.

Although there is a substantial tunneler presence in the canyon, the landmines and other traps make them a negligible threat in this area.

Trivia

 * Spore Carriers can occasionally be encountered in Mead Canyon. The significance of this is not known.