West Elizabeth



"Civilization in all its glory."

- John Marston

West Elizabeth (full name: Commonwealth of West Elizabeth), is one of the three territories in Red Dead Redemption and the smallest territory. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it is one of the five American territories, now with an expanded region to the north.

Description
West Elizabeth is composed of three constituent regions: Tall Trees, Great Plains and Big Valley.

In 1911, West Elizabeth is characterized as being the most modern and industrialized settlement in the West, the thriving port town of Blackwater, which also serves as the state's capital. The state is distinguished from others due to its uniformed police force, cobbled roads, and named streets.

In 1899 and 1907, it is preceded by Saint Denis in Lemoyne as a place of modernity. Regardless, it is still the modernized town in the West. Blackwater during this time is a port town going under the process of industrialization judging from the newly constructed structures sprouting within the town. As such, there is no built railway that pass Blackwater going to New Austin. Pacific Union Railroad Camp didn't exist at that time.

There are two major settlements in West Elizabeth: Blackwater and Strawberry. There are also camps, ranches and homesteads that dot within the territory. In 1911, it is the home to a large Native American population, many of whom are members of Dutch's Gang.

Geography
West Elizabeth is bordered by New Austin to the west which its established border is the Lower Montana River. The river empties through Thieves' Landing then to San Luis River. In the east, it is bordered by the Upper Montana River in the original game but currently bordered by Grizzlies West. Southeast of Big Valley is bordered by The Heartlands in New Hanover which its natural border is the Dakota River. Southwards, Flat Iron Lake bordered the rest of the territory limits.

The landscape progresses from rolling grasslands in the Great Plains region through snow-capped, impassable mountains around the edges of Tall Trees. To the east lies Big Valley, which falls under the foot of Mount Shann. Resemblance of Tall Trees persists eastwards until near the vicinity of Strawberry where the elevation gets higher. The area is mountainous and slightly forested with patches of meadows surrounding the base of the mountain.

Being apart of the Great Plains and connecting Texas's stand-in, New Austin, to Louisiana's stand-in, Lemoyne, the closest real-life geographical counterpart to West Elizabeth would be Oklahoma.

Red Dead Redemption 2
Due to the Van der Linde Gang's actions in Blackwater, the area is semi-restricted and under constant guard by Pinkertons. Crossing towards Great Plains and Tall Trees will result to a maximum wanted level where Arthur will be shot on sight when seen by lawmen.

Towards the end of the game, the rest of West Elizabeth is unlocked and fully accessible. The player will then control John Marston by this time, following the completion of "Red Dead Redemption". The focus of the game remains in West Elizabeth until the conclusion of the epilogue.

Red Dead Redemption
The game's opening cinematic begins with John Marston arriving in the region by steamboat, escorted by Federal Bureau agents Edgar Ross and Archer Fordham. The cinematic then transports the story to New Austin before giving control to the player. The player does not gain access to West Elizabeth again until the third chapter in the game's storyline, following completion of the mission "An Appointed Time". The focus of the game remains in West Elizabeth through the conclusion of the main storyline.

Great Plains

 * Beecher's Hope
 * Blackwater
 * Broken Tree
 * Quaker's Cove (RDR 2 only)
 * Wreck of the Serendipity (RDR only)

Tall Trees

 * Aurora Basin
 * Bearclaw Camp (stylized as Bear Claw in RDR 2)
 * Cochinay
 * Dixon Crossing
 * Lower Montana River
 * Manzanita Post
 * Mason's Bridge (RDR only)
 * Montana Ford
 * Nekoti Rock
 * Pacific Union Railroad Camp (RDR only)
 * Tanner's Reach
 * Tanner's Span (RDR only)

Big Valley

 * Appleseed Timber Company
 * Bard's Crossing
 * Beryl's Dream
 * Black Bone Forest
 * Dakota River
 * Diablo Ridge
 * Fort Riggs
 * Hanging Dog Ranch
 * Hawks Eye Creek
 * Holt's Shack
 * Lenora View
 * Little Creek River
 * Lone Mule Stead
 * Monto's Rest
 * Mount Shann
 * Old Tom's Blind
 * Owanjila
 * Owanjila Dam
 * Painted Sky
 * Pronghorn Ranch
 * Riggs Station
 * Shepherds Rise
 * Strawberry
 * Taxidermist House
 * Upper Montana River
 * Valley View
 * Vetter's Echo
 * Wallace Overlook
 * Wallace Station
 * Watson's Cabin

Trivia

 * This is the only region not to have any Gang Hideouts that the player can attack. There are still gang members that can be captured via bounty hunting, however. Cochinay is considered a gang hideout but plays only a story-based role and cannot be revisited to eliminate the gang in the area.
 * As with the boundary between New Austin and Nuevo Paraíso, the transition of the music when the player moves between New Austin and West Elizabeth can take some time to register.
 * The landscape is reflective of various states in the Western United States. The eastern portion of West Elizabeth resembles and is named after, the Great Plains while the western portion (Tall Trees area) resembles the front range states along the Rocky Mountains.
 * The name would appear to be a reference to West Virginia since Elizabeth I was the eponymous "Virgin Queen" Virginia was named after.
 * This region is host to a wide variety of game for hunting, as the player can hunt for Bear, Wolf, Cougar, Elk, Bighorn and Boar along with many other species in Tall Trees.
 * West Elizabeth is the first state seen in the whole game. The game technically begins in Blackwater when John departs the Morningstar at the very beginning of Exodus in America.
 * West Elizabeth is the only of the three territories to have Native Americans; the vast majority of whom are members of Dutch's Gang and are, therefore, extremely hostile.
 * West Elizabeth is the most developed territory as it has Blackwater, a fully developed city, and a heavy government influence. However, there are still many untamed elements to this land such as the natives, the wildlife and there are even small settlements such as Manzanita Post formed by natives or frontiersmen.
 * West Elizabeth can be seen in Red Dead Redemption II's third trailer (most importantly Blackwater).

Early Access to West Elizabeth

 * Be sure to have a fast horse such as the War Horse, Kentucky Saddler or the Hungarian Half Breed and look for a cliff near the waterfall north of the MacFarlane's Ranch. A display reading "Tall Trees" will pop up when at the edge. From there, walk over to the other side of the railroad tracks nearby, staying as close as possible to the West Elizabeth border. Pitching camp as near to the water as possible will place the player in West Elizabeth; this method works in the GOTY version. See this in action here.
 * Another simple way over is to just follow this video. Once over the river, head to the Pacific Union Rail Road Camp and walk over to the stagecoach so it is marked on the map (an earlier version of Red Dead - not GOTY)
 * If the player is arrested at this cliff the player will be transported to Blackwater (Confirmed for GOTY and Early Version.)
 * To get back to New Austin, auto-save the game and then die. However, if one buys the Manzanita Post property, the stagecoach is an option to return: this exploit still works as of 2024. Go to Thieves' Landing and use the stagecoach to go to any stagecoach marked on the map in West Elizabeth or follow the videos (depending on which Red Dead version the player has).
 * Another sure option to return is to use that fast horse to jump the unfinished bridge north at Thieves' Landing at a full gallop: if careful, the other side of the bridge or land will be reached and safety achieved. Mason's bridge will also allow the player to return by hitting land underneath the bridge on the way down after leaping at a full gallop (but the fall may kill the horse and the player too if one is not careful). The Thieves' Landing bridge and Mason's bridge both work in the GOTY version.
 * A very simple solution to get in and out freely without unlocking the storyline is to get arrested like mentioned above. Once out of jail, earn enough cash to buy the house in Manzanita Post, buy all the maps for the West Elizabeth towns (Great Plains, Tall tress, etc..) then save at the newly bought house. After you do this, you can come and go as you please without having to go through the storyline.

Achievements/Trophies
The discovery of locations in West Elizabeth count towards the following Trophies/Achievements:

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