List of Real Locations in Horizon Forbidden West

This is a list of the most significant or striking real life locations used in the setting of Horizon Forbidden West. For additional locations see Real World Location Info.

General Location

Horizon Forbidden West is set in the Southwestern United States, in parts of southwest Utah, southern Nevada, and central California up to the Pacific coast.

Named Locations

Horizon Location		Real Life Location
B
Bonewhite Tear		Yosemite Valley, CA
C
Cliffs of the Cry		Big Sur and the Santa Lucia Range, CA
D
Dunehollow		Las Vegas Strip, NV
E
Eastern Raintrace Rebel Outpost		Interstate 5, CA, OR and WA
I
Isle of Spires		San Francisco, CA
J
Jagged Deep		Lake Mead, NV and AZ
N
Ninmah Research Lab		Kawich Peak, NV
No Man's Land Relic Ruins		Zion Human History Museum, UT
P
Plainsong		Very Large Array, NM
R
Regional Control Center 9		Hayford Peak, NV
Restless Weald Relic Ruins		Caliente Station, NV
Runner's Wild Relic Ruins		Mammoth Lakes Lutheran Church, CA
S
Sheerside Mountains		Sierra Crest, CA
Straggler's Shade		Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel, UT
T
The Daunt		Zion National Park, UT
The Daunt Relic Ruins		Zion Lodge, UT
The Long Coast Relic Ruins		Fox Theater, CA
The Memorial Grove		Mojave National Preserve, CA
The Stand of the Sentinels		Sequoia National Park, CA
The Stillsands		Las Vegas, NV
The Stillsands Relic Ruins		The Forum Shops at Caesars, NV

Unnamed Locations

Horizon Location		Real Life Location
Cliffs of the Cry
Ancient Bridge in the Cliffs of the Cry		Bixby Creek Bridge, CA
Dunehollow
Ancient Arch in Dunehollow		Arc de Triomphe, NV
Ancient Tower and Building in Dunehollow		Paris Las Vegas, NV
Ancient Orb in Dunehollow		Paris Balloon, NV
Isle of Spires
Ancient Bridge near the Isle of Spires		Golden Gate Bridge, CA
Ancient Building in the Isle of Spires		San Francisco City Hall, CA
Ancient Radio Tower in the Isle of Spires		Sutro Tower, CA
Ancient Pyramid in the Isle of Spires		Transamerica Pyramid, CA
Ancient Tower in the Isle of Spires		Coit Tower, CA
Buried Cathedral in the Isle of Spires		Grace Cathedral, CA
Cove in the Isle of Spires		Union Square, CA
River in the Isle of Spires		Lombard Street, CA
Sunken Building near the Isle of Spires		San Francisco Ferry Building, CA
Sunken Cathedral in the Isle of Spires		National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, CA
Sunken Island near the Isle of Spires		Alcatraz Island, CA
Sunken Street near the Isle of Spires		Jackson Street, CA
Landfall
Sunken Stadium in Landfall		Oracle Park, CA
No Man's Land
Ancient Dam in No Man's Land		Hoover Dam, NV and AZ
Raintrace
Ancient Aqueduct in the Raintrace		Los Angeles Aqueduct, CA
Beach in the Valley of the Fallen		McWay Cove, CA
Salt Bite
Lake in Salt Bite		Mono Lake, CA
Shrouded Heights
Sunken Palace in Shrouded Heights		Palace of Fine Arts, CA
The Long Coast
Sunken City near the Long Coast		Oakland, CA
The Stillsands
Buried Building in the Stillsands		Bellagio, NV
Buried Ring in the Stillsands		High Roller, NV
Buried Tower in the Stillsands		The Strat, NV

Inconsistencies

While the world of Horizon Forbidden West is inspired by the Western United States, it is not a 1:1 replica. Several artistic liberties are taken regarding the relative distance between real locations and their position relative to the prime directions, or by bringing two faraway locations extremely close together and leaving out vast swaths of territory in between. While some locations are directly based on their real-life counterparts, some only take visual inspirations, and other locations don't exist in the real world to begin with. For these reasons, it is impossible for the game map to be accurately laid over a real map of the Western United States.

• The distance between Zion National Park and Lake Mead is at least twice the distance in real life.
• In real life, the Very Large Array is in New Mexico, whereas here it appears to be somewhere between Utah and Nevada.
• The Memorial Grove is based on the Mojave National Preserve. However, there is no battlefield in it, nor is there a museum dedicated to said battlefield.
• Yosemite Valley meets the sea at its western end, even though in real life it is 150 miles away from the Pacific Ocean.
  • In-game holograms of Earth show the entire Central Valley submerged beneath the sea, which could explain Yosemite's proximity to the coast. However, if all icecaps were to melt, it would cause sea levels to rise by about 70 meters, and some parts of the Central Valley (such as Fresno) are well over 90 meters above sea level, and other parts (such as the Sierra Buttes) are well over 600 meters above sea level. The floor of Yosemite Valley itself is 4000 ft (1219 meters) above sea level, so seawater penetrating that far is simply not plausible.