The states in Red Dead Redemption 2 are not direct copies of their real-life U.S. counterparts, that’s for sure. However, Rockstar Games made sure that each state is a combination of landscapes, weather, history, and culture from several parts of America. That’s what makes such a huge map believable with a lot of variety in the game.
Just like my other article, in which I scrutinized RDR2 towns in real life, in this one we’re going to examine what the in-game states represent in the real United States. Yeehaw, let’s ride, cowboys.
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Lemoyne in Real Life
Lemoyne is surely based on Louisiana and the wider Deep South, with influences from Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and East Texas. How do we tell? Well, Bayou Nwa and Bluewater Marsh represent the swamps of southern Louisiana and Mississippi, with their wetlands and thick trees.
The French and Creole influence there is too obvious to miss. Scarlett Meadows looks more like plantation country in northern Louisiana and Mississippi, particularly the region between Jackson and Monroe. I’ve seen some of its red soil and forests compared to East Texas.
New Hanover in Real Life
New Hanover is a mixture of the Great Plains, the Midwest, the Ozarks, and Appalachia. The Heartlands are closest to open farming and ranching country in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. You can compare Cumberland Forest to the Black Hills of western South Dakota, although the Ozarks are another possible influence, I reckon.
Roanoke Ridge is the most debated region I’ve stumbled upon. Its forests, steep hills, mining towns, and foggy weather strongly resemble Appalachia, especially North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Tennessee. I’ve seen people say it’s based on the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas.
Ambarino in Real Life
Ambarino represents the Rocky Mountains and nearby northern states. You can see that Grizzlies East has been compared to the Front Range in Colorado and Wyoming, as well as parts of the Dakotas. Cotorra Springs is the clearest real-life connection in this state because its geysers and hot springs closely resemble Yellowstone National Park. Grizzlies West feels more like Montana.
However, I can’t rule out northern Wyoming and Idaho either. The mountains and valleys look like the Teton Range along the Wyoming-Idaho border.
West Elizabeth in Real Life
West Elizabeth is one of the hardest states to pin down because it puts plains and mountains beside one another. You can see there’s a resemblance between the Great Plains region and North Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. Big Valley, though, reminds me of Yosemite Valley, although Wyoming, Yellowstone, and Montana are also possible candidates.
You see, Tall Trees is usually associated with the redwood forests of northern California, but Rockstar may have drawn inspiration from Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. You can say West Elizabeth is a mix of the Great Plains and the western mountain and forest regions.
New Austin in Real Life
New Austin has always given me Texan vibes so I strongly believe it mostly resembles Texas. That may not be all, though. New Mexico and Arizona also played a role in inspiring New Austin. Hennigan’s Stead, for example, resembles Texas Hill Country between Austin and San Antonio.
Cholla Springs looks like West Texas and New Mexico. Rio Bravo looks like the desert scrublands of New Mexico and the dry land along the Texas-New Mexico border near the Rio Grande.
Gaptooth Ridge is usually associated with Arizona, although, from what I’ve seen, its rocky desert and the nearby Sea of Coronado have also been compared with the desert landscape along the Arizona-California border.
At the end of the day, RDR2’s states feel believable because Rockstar Games designed them based on many real regions instead of copying only one. If they had copied only one region, we wouldn’t have seen this huge map with as much variety as the actual U.S. The map may not match real American geography, but each area still captures a recognizable part of the country.
