Mapping Red Dead Redemption 2! Landmark Analysis Thread

[INFERNO E100]

6 minutes ago, albinobuffalo96 said:

I really doubt this tbh. That would mean from Mexico to Canada, America is only like 4 miles wide, which is too unrealistic even for R*s standards. 

In everything we've seen so far, they've been treating it like an American state and I doubt they would give a Canadian province a Spanish sounding name. 

 

I'm pretty convinced after today that West Elizabeth is Colorado (which we already knew) and Ambarino, despite having a more similar name to Colorado is actually mostly modeled after Wyoming. That shot of the mountain looks pretty Teton-like an it would make since given its position to WE and New Hanover, which we know is at least partly Nebraska. 

 

Wyoming has a ton of French place names like the Grand Tetons, Dubois, Sinclair, etc.

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France theres a whole f*ckton of french names in that area 

3 minutes ago, AndyGanteks said:

Nah that's definitely not the ranch, probably just a random shack. This picture may be taken between the Adler ranch to the left and down and "Colter" or that pass to the right of the little cabin.

There seems to be quite a few of the orange trail behind the purple big text "The Grizzlies" which covers it, i'm trying to pinpoint the possible road to match the picture.

 

Lake itself could also be the body of water between Colter and Chez Porter, 2 ones further up just don't seem west enough to have something as important to the east of it. And the little blue dot next to COlter, that's just too small for a lake, think we shouldn't consider it.

the lake is behind the "E" of "the" in "THE GRIZZLIES (intro)"

[Chinese Takeout]

1 hour ago, DuPz0r said:

I wonder why Van Horn wasn't mentioned here...?

I've been thinking more about this, and i think the answer is in the description:

Quote

 

The Frontier, Cities & Towns

Discover some of the towns dotted across the vast and varied landscape of Red Dead Redemption 2; from the forests of West Elizabeth to the mountains of Ambarino to the plains of New Hanover to the swamps of Lemoyne.

 

1. "...SOME of the towns..."
2. They use the phrase "varied landscape" in the first half of the sentence...
   1. ...and then in the second half, they give examples of some of those types of landscape
      1. Forests > W.E.
      2. Mountains > Amb
      3. Plains > N.H.
      4. Swamps > Lem

 

 

 

[TechDevil]

16 minutes ago, BretMaverick777 said:

Let me step back and regroup for a minute.

What if "Beck" isn't a mountain, but a river? 

Checking the definition of it, "beck" is a British dialectical of a "stream or creek."  

We know there's an unmarked stream that runs down to the Dakota River just above Cumberland Falls.   It's marked on the leaked map as the dividing line between "Grizzlies Intro" and "Grizzlies" proper.   This is one of those rare occasions where a regional border is also a natural one.   In this case, I believe that creek is called "Beartooth Beck." 

The mountain in the post card is, of course, Mt. Hagen itself.

Although....it would make sense for the mountain in the background to be named Beartooth as well, from its shape.   So...Beartooth Beck is the creek that runs down the hollow separating Beartooth Mountain and Mt. Hagen, maybe? 

 

Bäck (pronounced "beck") means small river in Swedish, so you might just be right about that!

Edited September 17, 2018 by TechDevil

[albinobuffalo96]

4 minutes ago, INFERNO E100 said:

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory by the United States from France theres a whole f*ckton of french names in that area 

Holy sh*t you just made me realize something

 

The new map IS the Lousiana Purchase. If we think about what states we think are being represented it lines up almost perfectly.

[INFERNO E100]

1 minute ago, TechDevil said:

Bäck (pronounced) "beck" means small river in Swedish, so you might just be right about that!

and the italian version of the site calls it beartooth stream

[ivarblaauw]

1 minute ago, Chinese Takeout said:

I've been thinking more about this, and i think the answer is in the description:

1. "...SOME of the towns..."
2. They use the phrase "varied landscape" in the first half of the sentence...
   1. ...and then in the second half, they give examples of some of those types of landscape
      1. Forests > W.E.
      2. Mountains > Amb
      3. Plains > N.H.
      4. Swamps > Lem

 

 

 

Also they only refer to 'the frontier'. There is not the mention of city life until later in the blog.

 

Also we haven't seen anything about the Western Border States or the Civilized East. 

[theultimatejames]

2 minutes ago, TechDevil said:

Bäck (pronounced) "beck" means small river in Swedish, so you might just be right about that!

He's 100% right. A beck is a small stream or river.

[DuPz0r]

This should help us narrow it's location.

[Chinese Takeout]

6 minutes ago, ivarblaauw said:

Also they only refer to 'the frontier'. There is not the mention of city life until later in the blog.

 

Also we haven't seen anything about the Western Border States or the Civilized East. 

well, no, they refer to 3 things:

1. The Frontier
2. Cities
3. Towns

And then the post goes on to show all 3 of those things. That's how I read it, anyway. 

 

Spoiler

 

EDIT: for clarity - I would read it differently if it was "The Frontier: Cities & Towns"

Edited September 17, 2018 by Chinese Takeout

[ivarblaauw]

1 minute ago, Chinese Takeout said:

well, no, they refer to 3 things:

1. The Frontier
2. Cities
3. Towns

And then the post goes on to show all 3 of those things. That's how I read it, anyway. 

 

  Hide contents

 

Yeah I get that but I meant geographically wise. No mention of either the Western Border States or the east *or south*, at all.

 

Blackwater is also not mentioned.

 

They only shown a few things, and nothing more. There will be plenty to discover

[AndyGanteks]

4 minutes ago, DuPz0r said:

This should help us narrow it's location.

Upper right picture, that;s near Horseshoe Overlook right?

[BretMaverick777]

8 minutes ago, SneakyDeaky said:

If that's right then that could be Adler Ranch right there? Doesn't look much of a ranch though...

Y'all could be right.  

 

18 minutes ago, SneakyDeaky said:

If that's right then that could be Adler Ranch right there? Doesn't look much of a ranch though...

We know Sadie's husband got murdered by somebody.  If that's the ranch (I think it is), then it probably got wrecked by whoever murdered him.  They might well have tore up boards for firewood, for that matter, before they went back down the mountain.  I'd say that is, in fact, the ruins of Adler Ranch.

 

And this is Colter, our shelter from the snowstorm (give or take a few random shootouts in the snow):

 

So maybe this is the cartography of Mt. Hagen?   Lake Isabella to the west at the foot of the mountain, the stream called Beartooth Beck in the eastern valley, Beartooth Ridge being the jagged peaks to the east, Colter being the snowed-in settlement on the eastern slope, and Adler Ranch...

Hm.   Adler Ranch definitely looks like it's in the valley.  And it wouldn't make sense to build a ranch on TOP of a mountain.   So the ramshackle shack-le on top of the mountain is something else, but probably located on the summit.  

 

[DuPz0r]

The frozen settlement is looking more and more likely it's Adler Ranch.

 

And the shootout is probably the Colter Camp where they hold up for the winter.

Edited September 17, 2018 by DuPz0r

[SneakyDeaky]

It seems to me this "Spaldings" building is the Mercier Building, built 1887, destroyed in 1907. Photo courtesy Corbis. 

 

Edit: Quoted the wrong building name, its the Mercier Exchange.

Edited September 17, 2018 by SneakyDeaky

[BretMaverick777]

5 minutes ago, DuPz0r said:

The frozen settlement is looking more and more likely it's Adler Ranch.

 

And the shootout is probably the Colter Camp where they hold up for the winter.

If we're right about Colter being the shootout scene (and face it:  we are ), then it looks to me like a mining camp of some sort.  There's probably more heat inside the mines than in those outbuildings, so the camp itself probably resembles something like Dutch's setup at Cochinay.  

1 minute ago, SneakyDeaky said:

It seems to me this "Spaldings" building is based on the New Orleans Cotton Exchange built in 1871, destroyed in 1920.

 

I LOVE YOU, MAN

 

Seriously, it's so awesome that Rockstar are using real-world landmarks, both natural and man-made, in RDR2.  

And it's so awesome that so many of you are finding these places.

Right on the money. 

[SneakyDeaky]

4 minutes ago, BretMaverick777 said:

If we're right about Colter being the shootout scene (and face it:  we are ), then it looks to me like a mining camp of some sort.  There's probably more heat inside the mines than in those outbuildings, so the camp itself probably resembles something like Dutch's setup at Cochinay.  

I LOVE YOU, MAN

 

Seriously, it's so awesome that Rockstar are using real-world landmarks, both natural and man-made, in RDR2.  

And it's so awesome that so many of you are finding these places.

Right on the money. 

Hey man, sorry I got confused on the page I found that picture on, it's actually the Mercier Building, built 1887, destroyed in 1907. Home to the original Maison Blanche. In all likely hood the Cotton Exchange building will be there, too. A lot of these Italian Renaissance buildings in the city were razed by the 30's. I think St Denis will be a time capsule of a New Orleans that doesn't quite exist anymore...

 

[Little Big Man]

Maison Blanche? So this is where president Nixon lives?

Edited September 17, 2018 by Little Big Man

[Chinese Takeout]

33 minutes ago, DuPz0r said:

This should help us narrow it's location.

And...

 

[bcsimms04]

Having this sinking feeling that the desert is online only or a dlc or something and that Blackwater is a one off intro like North Yankton.

[Jabalous]

2 minutes ago, bcsimms04 said:

Having this sinking feeling that the desert is online only or a dlc or something and that Blackwater is a one off intro like North Yankton.

Nah, Gameplay trailer implies that it's explorable as much as the other environments introduced in the trailer. It also does not make sense to create a whole environment and filling it with details for Online only. 

[BretMaverick777]

15 minutes ago, SneakyDeaky said:

Hey man, sorry I got confused on the page I found that picture on, it's actually the Mercier Building, built 1887, destroyed in 1907. Home to the original Maison Blanche. In all likely hood the Cotton Exchange building will be there, too. A lot of these Italian Renaissance buildings in the city were razed by the 30's. I think St Denis will be a time capsule of a New Orleans that doesn't quite exist anymore...

 

So we can assume Spaldings is a fancy multi-story department store, and this road is the equivalent of New Orleans' Canal Street.  

[SneakyDeaky]

I think this area will be well represented in the city of St Denis, mostly around Canal Street.

Spoiler

 

http://nutrias.org/~nopl/exhibits/allison/aastreets34.htm

[BretMaverick777]

6 minutes ago, Chinese Takeout said:

And...

 

So Mt. Hagen is what we were calling "Three Peaks."  We now know that Hagen is the central, and dominant, peak of those three.  

Also, the ranch in Dupzor's picture above, where Arthur is drawing his rifle from his saddle:   Hanging Dog, I presume?

 

And riddle me this, y'all: 

 

"One of the more well-known peaks in the snowy Grizzlies of Ambarino, Mount Hagen towers above Lake Isabella to the west and Beartooth Beck to the east, which provides the main pass through the western mountain range and joins up with the Dakota River further south."

 

The main pass "through" the western mountain range...?   Folks, Beartooth Beck passes THROUGH the western mountain range to....

uncharted territory to the north.  

Somebody try to convince me that Ambarino isn't a LOT bigger than The Grizzlies.

  

Looks like that map extends NORTH.   (To Alaska?   He said, only half-jokingly)

#KlondikeGoldRush #JackLondon #WyattEarp #SoapySmith

#CallOfTheWild #WhiteFang #SgtPrestonOfTheYukon

[Chinese Takeout]

4 minutes ago, BretMaverick777 said:

The main pass "through" the western mountain range...?   Folks, Beartooth Beck passes THROUGH the western mountain range to....

uncharted territory to the north.  

Somebody try to convince me that Ambarino isn't a LOT bigger than The Grizzlies.

  

Hosea to Arthur, as they're riding up into the Grizzlies at the start of the game, "It's a shame about that dynamite accident up there where they was clearin' rocks by Beartooth Beck, I think it was? I heard that pass through the Grizzlies'll be shut down for pernt-near a year, or more." 

 

Arthur, "Yeah, that sucks sh*t, dawg."

[Sausache]

 

Mapped out Strawberry now that we got a town map and a few more screenshots. We've seen at least 90% of the town.

 

Trackers Hotel is in light pink.

Lower bridge(yellow) and an upper bridge(cyan) and can be differentiated by the railings(upper is fancier).

Schoolhouse(black) next to Trackers(seen in the top left shot). We have seen children in this town, so very likely they go to a school.

General Store across the street from Trackers(light green).

Law Office across the river from the general store(dark green).

Saw mill(?) in grey near the indigo house and Law Office.

Saloon(?) in dark cyan across the street from the church.

There is also a log flume heading(yellow-green) near the entrance to town heading up behind Trackers.

 

We have not seen the dark blue, or the grey buildings at all(as well as the outbuildings and anything out of what I've mapped), but I would assume there is a gunsmith or a doctor's office. Orange, indigo, purple, grey, dark pink and dark blue are all candidates, and the rest are most likely houses. There might be a few more buildings past the school or the sawmill, but this should encompass most, if not all, of the town.

[Frivolous_Raven]

6 minutes ago, Sausache said:

 

Mapped out Strawberry now that we got a town map and a few more screenshots. We've seen at least 90% of the town.

 

Trackers Hotel is in light pink.

Lower bridge(yellow) and an upper bridge(cyan) and can be differentiated by the railings(upper is fancier).

Schoolhouse(black) next to Trackers(seen in the top left shot). We have seen children in this town, so very likely they go to a school.

General Store across the street from Trackers(light green).

Law Office across the river from the general store(dark green).

Saw mill(?) in grey near the indigo house and Law Office.

Saloon(?) in dark cyan across the street from the church.

There is also a log flume heading(yellow-green) near the entrance to town heading up behind Trackers.

 

We have not seen the dark blue, or the grey buildings at all(as well as the outbuildings and anything out of what I've mapped), but I would assume there is a gunsmith or a doctor's office. Orange, indigo, purple, grey, dark pink and dark blue are all candidates, and the rest are most likely houses. There might be a few more buildings past the school or the sawmill, but this should encompass most, if not all, of the town.

Strawberry is my favorite town so far! Can't wait to explore it.  

 

I love the atmosphere. I imagine waking up early in the winter and having a hot cup of coffee with the local folks around the fire as smoke comes out of the houses's chimney.

[arno_cat]

I made this gif just to show the map matches.

Credit goes to @TheWhiteHat for telling me about it!

Edited September 17, 2018 by arno_cat

[Pumpkin Zone]

So it's safe to assume that New Bordeaux is now named Saint Denis, unless there's another large New Orleans-type city I missed on the leaked map.

[arno_cat]

La Bastille Saloon?

[nubcaker]

21 minutes ago, arno_cat said:

I made this gif just to show the map matches.

Credit goes to @TheWhiteHat for telling me about it!

There it is! Looks like St Denis is going to be a pretty sizeable city. Based on this snippet and the scale of that building in the new pic.