Vegas and Hoover Dam
UPDATE: February 15,2018
Updated road and rail routes. Updated water spawn placement. Added more green to the map. The map theme is not required for the map to work. only for the texture change
UPDATE: February 19, 2016
I have created a map theme for this map for a more realistic look. It is still very good without it. Pictures of both are included. Enjoy!
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=627833987
This is an accurate terrain map of the Lake Mead, Boulder City, Las Vegas, and Hoover dam area. When starting the map the Colorado River flows uncontested through Black Canyon, and it’s yours to let run or to tame. In pursuit to make it as realistic as possible the river and terrain are quite accurate to how they were before Lake Mead existed. There are notches in the canyon wall to place Hoover Dam in its proper location. (Refer to pictures) This is the elevation and location the dam MUST be place at to ensure water flow and energy production. This is a massive reservoir and takes up to 6 years in game to fill to capacity and start producing power. It is definitely an amazing site to see as the reservoir fills up. It is as though this is two maps in one as the landscape will change drastically. The river is designed to keep flowing even once the dam is placed so it won’t dry up and cause issues for your city while waiting for the lake to fill. There is plenty of wide open land to build your oasis in the desert and lay down the Las Vegas strip. Oil and ore available. No shipping lanes in this arrid landscape. Railroad connections are close to the starting tile. There’s only about 8,000 trees on the map leaving the rest for your city. Hoover Dam, being right on the Nevada – Arizona border, allows this map to encapsulate the amazing views of the American Southwest. It is quite beautiful and it’s a change of pace from the mostly all green maps we have to build on. Thanks for checking it out! Let me know what you think.
A few quick tips on dams:
Once the reservoir is full it can take a few moments for the dam to reach full power production as the water behind the dam reaches an equalized state.
If you start to notice power loss from the dam its probably because too many water pumps are drawing water from the lake. I have found it better to place water pumps below the dam if you notice this starting to happen.
When first placing the dam the water outlet can be very high up the side of the dam( as pictured). If this bothers you like it does me you can wait for the water to reach its low point then pause, delete, and replace the dam. Make sure the water is flowing in the right direction when doing this.
