United States (gigantomaniac 2-1)

United States (gigantomaniac 2-1) The contiguous United States, plus the parts of southern Canada, northern Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas that fall within the map frame, on a gigantomaniac 2:1 map (20.5 x 41 km). The continent is rotated so it runs along the long axis from the Pacific Northwest down to Florida and the Gulf. Canada's Prairie provinces, the Maritimes and central Mexico lie outside the frame. - 219 real cities at their real locations, from Vancouver and Quebec City to Monterrey and Havana. Every city starts at minimum size so you grow them yourself. Big metros (New York, Chicago, LA, Houston, Toronto, Monterrey...) demand all nine cargo types; regional cities and towns demand fewer. - 390 industries placed by real-world economic geography: Appalachian and Powder River coal, Mesabi and Birmingham iron, Pittsburgh / Gary / Birmingham steel, Texas / Oklahoma / Pennsylvania / California oil with Gulf Coast refineries and offshore platforms, Detroit-centred auto plants (25 verified real factory sites), Corn Belt and Great Plains farms, Texas and Montana cattle, Pacific Northwest and Maine timber, Southern cotton feeding Carolina and New England mills, Great Lakes and both-coast fishing grounds. - Rivers carved from the terrain; the Great Lakes, Great Salt Lake, Lake Okeechobee and the Salton Sea are real lakes. - Coastal cities and Great Lakes ports demand fish; inland cities demand meat. Tips - Resources are concentrated where they really are, so long-haul freight is part of the design: Appalachian coal to Southern and Western steel, Mesabi ore down the lakes to Gary and Pittsburgh, Gulf crude to Northeastern refineries, Plains grain to the East Coast. - The Northeast corridor (Boston - New York - Philadelphia - Washington) and the Great Lakes belt are deliberately dense; the Plains and Mountain West are sparse with long distances between towns. - Keep trains and platforms moderate in length; the compressed terrain punishes very long consists in the Rockies and Appalachians.