Shady Sands

Shady Sands is the capital of the New California Republic and one of its largest cities. It is also the largest known urban center built from scratch, without using pre-War ruins as the foundation, and the town boasts a population in the tens of thousands. Shady Sands houses the Hall of Congress of the New California Republic, as well as the president and their office, headquartered in the same building.

History
 Shady Sands was founded by an ancestor of Aradesh after they left Vault 15. The settlement was jump-started using the G.E.C.K., allowing for adobe buildings from sandcrete and rudimentary agriculture to be set up. A protective wall was also erected to protect the city from raider tribes that formed in the winter, raiding outlying communities to replenish their food supplies. No one expected that the humble village would eventually culminate in the formation of the mighty New California Republic. 

Shady Sands
 By 2161, it was a small but thriving settlement, completely self-sufficient, as they managed to irrigate the wasteland soil to support crops (primarily maize and cabbage), drill a well to provide them with water, and even establish brahmin herds. Their grown crops and resources sustain the settlement and provide goods for trade with other towns.

The settlement kept mostly to itself, trading with the occasional merchant from Junktown. It proved large enough to deter most of the problems the wastes presented, primarily the local raider clans (another surviving group from Vault 15) and repeated attacks by radscorpions. Both of these threats slowly escalated, as radscorpions became more numerous and aggressive, while the raiders constantly focused their strength and numbers on the fledgling township.

These problems were alleviated by the Vault Dweller, who discovered the settlement en route to Vault 15. Initially distrusting of the stranger, the inhabitants quickly warmed up to the hero as they successfully rid the community of the radscorpion threat, and later rescued Tandi, Aradesh's daughter, from captivity at the hands of raiders. 

Capital of the New California Republic
 In the period between 2161 and 2241, the small settlement grew and expanded, forming one of the most influential political factions to emerge in the post-war United States, the New California Republic (NCR). Tandi, the daughter of Aradesh, eventually rose to the title of president of the sprawling New California Republic. Following the establishment of the NCR, the township expanded rapidly.

By 2241, Shady Sands is often referred to simply as New California Republic, even if the name never officially changed. The town has transformed from a small farming settlement into the largest civilized population center in New California, with over 3000 inhabitants by 2241. It was made prosperous via trade with smaller outlying townships and its vast agricultural power. Almost nothing of the original village Shady Sands remains, only a few familiar looking buildings. The heart of the city is the Congress district, where the Hall of Congress and the Presidential Mansion are located.

The town is clean and prosperous, under the rule of President Tandi. The NCR does keep order within its walls with a large and competent police force. Outside the walls, the NCR has so far been operating through others, buying and trading for goods and services.

By far Shady Sands' greatest resource at that point is its vast herds of brahmin, which provide most of the NCR with as much meat and leather as is required. The brahmin barons and ranchers in NCR territories, along with the Stockmen's Association, hold a great deal of sway with the trade caravans and government.

The State of Shady
Encompassing the capital Shady Sands and incorporating Vault 15 and Junktown as well as several other settlements and a vast amount of land. The state of Shady also borders the state of Maxson and the state of Hub, both of which are to the south, making Shady the northernmost state in the New California Republic.

Shady Sands is a major part of the Republic's energy distribution network, hooked into the restored infrastructure bringing in power from Hoover Dam.