National history of the Colorado River Republic (1962: The Apocalypse)

History
The Spanish mined copper on a small scale at Ajo after 1750. After the Gadsden Purchase brought the southern Arizona into the United States in 1853, the mine was reopened in 1855.

Before World War 3, Las Vegas served as one of the cultural epicentres of the United States. Las Vegas was established in 1905 and incorporated as a city in 1911. The city’s main form of economy was tourism, tourists where drawn to the city by its number of casinos, bars and other major attractions. Prostitution was legal in the state of Nevada, and as a result some considered prostitution to be another way to make money and draw tourists. The city of Las Vegas was once a prosperous city in former Nevada. However, it was destroyed on Doomsday.

Before Doomsday, the Hoover Dam was a powerful dam providing power to much of Nevada, California, and Colorado. The Colorado River coincidentally touched these states. The Hoover Dam was visited by millions of people each year, as was the Grand Canyon. Tours down the Colorado river were popular, and the neighbouring Las Vegas was a destination for tourists.

The Dam was constructed in the 1930s to provide power to the surrounding area. Despite the toll of constant storms, commerce over the bridge, and a few earthquakes, the structure remained intact for decades.

The national government did not relinquish control of Boulder City until 1959, when the town was incorporated. Boulder City’s incorporation ceremony took place on January 4, 1960. The city council selected pharmacist Robert N. Broadbent as the town’s first mayor.

The "Reno Arch" was erected on Virginia Street in 1926 to promote the upcoming Transcontinental Highways Exposition of 1927, the arch included the words "Nevada's Transcontinental Highways Exposition" and the dates of the exposition.

Prescott served as capital of Arizona Territory until November 1, 1867, when the capital was moved to Tucson by act of the 4th Arizona Territorial Legislature. The capital was then returned back to Prescott in 1877 by the 9th Arizona Territorial Legislature. The capital was finally moved to Phoenix on February 4, 1889 by the 15th Arizona Territorial Legislature stayed there ever since!

Doomsday


When the first nuclear strikes came in 1962 The region was badly hit. Nellis Air Force Base and Area 51 were the locations of major nearby nuclear strikes. Several other strikes also occurred in southern California at- Lancaster-Palmdale, San Bernardino, Camp Pendleton, and Anaheim. L.A., San Fran, Long Beach and San Diago were now a pile of radioactive rubble. Phoenix got 5x 1kt (they did not go off) and 1 x10. There were also a few minor hits in Utah and Colorado.

Las Vegas and Carson City were heavily affected by Doomsday. The ruins of Las Vegas became heavily radioactive and many survivors died. However, the radioactive fall did not affect the southern area as much, allowing it to be habitable in time. Radiation spread right into the path of Las Vegas and the city was devastated by radiation, with much of North Las Vegas was destroyed by the blast at Nellis AFB. Luckily Las Vegas was not hit as hard as most other U.S. cities after 2 10Kt ICBMs meant for the south of it fell in Lake Mead and failed to go off, so it still had a slim chance of it's outer and southern suburb's survival. Late 1964 saw the panicking population turn on each other, with a few resorting to cannibalism until they were contacted by and evacuated to Boulder City.

The Colorado River Republic was spared the horrors of Doomsday for the most part, but cancer rates did rise sharply. Several of the towns, however, had an abundance of water and food and was able to save much of the surrounding area.

The survivors fled west toward the desert interior and along the Colorado River. Some got to San Luis Río Colorado, in Mexico. Along the way the surivors attcked each other and various towns and communities fell during the 1962-64 weather break down and the 1963-67 famine. Both martial law and food rationing started in late 1964. The region was total in chaos until the early 1970's.


 * The Soviet and Cuban missile strikes targeted-
 * 1)  See- WP Targets in USA

Post Doomsday


The irradiated, starving and terrified towns and local communities banded together in desperate attempt to maintain working forms of local government. In the few weeks after the nuclear catastrophe that destroyed much of human civilization, many people fled, and were never heard from again. Many of the survivors fleed west toward the desert interior and along the Colorado River. Some also successfully got to San Luis Río Colorado, in Mexico. Some Mexican aid reached Arizona, but most was used to house American refugees in Baja California and Sonsora.

Some smaller communities around Tucson, in N.E. Ariznoa and central Navada, however, did not make it. Chinle and Holbrook, Arizona for example, was overlooked by the Mexican and Jamacian disaster relief missions and much of the population died by 1964. By 1967, almost the the entire population had died of these places. This horror story, however, was not as prevalent as many peole believed at the time.

The remaining people continued to struggle on Land, barely scraping by. Several makeshift storage facilities where constructed by the ruined cities. Much of the area, being desert, suffered a famine that killed off 25% of the population. Summer where harsh, even with the onset of the nuclear winter and worse in the atomic weather summer event. Many of the makeshift settlements froze to death within the first winter. Food stores managed to hold out, although when the fleet began to run out of fuel it became much harder to replenish. Lack of arable land and weather prevented most farming.

These small towns where the only offical forms of government found in the region (other than the illicit organizations of gangs, mafias and raiders). The people would try to survive on what could be found and made. The communities formed alliances with each other. Soon wars soon erupted with spears, bows and arrows, farming tools, swords, knives, axes, clubs and few serving had guns. A major E.Coli 0157 outbreak also hit the ruined towns and cities of the former S.W. U.S.A.

Boulder City, Laughlin (Nevada), Parker (Arizona), Henderson (Nevada), Blythe (California), Yma (Arizona) and Primm were heavy irradiated and slightly damaged, but managed to escape the worst of it to. They, along with Prescott (Arizona), St. George (Utah) and the Hoover Dam tried to keep order in their neck their neck-of-the-woods and brought in both martial law and food rationing during the November of 1962. The cities, for the most part, calm. A small town government was started in each and disaster relief became a top priority.

They would also strggel to cope with both the effects of famin, radiation sickness and tier part of the 200,000-300,000 panick striken refugees escaping from the burnout shell of California! Typhoyed soon ripped troght the refugee camps, killing 44% of them. Many also died in the 1962-64 weather break down and the 1963-67 famine. A minor Earthquake struck shortly after wards in the ruins of Nellis air force base on my 2nd 1963. Both martial law and food rationing started in late 1964. A major earthquake struck the ruins of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Santa Monica, which caused an even greater short term crisis in the region in early 1965. The region was in total chaos until the early 1970's.

Fortunely the Hoover Dam was outside of any major blast radius and radiation did not reach the area around Lake Mead. A single 1kt bomb failed to go off after hitting Lake Mead instead of the dam, along with 2 ICBMs who were meant to hit Las Vagas, missed and failed to go off. However, the workers in Hoover Dam stayed inside for a couple of months, believing that the radiation would affect them if they stayed out for too long.

Several small bands of tourists, locals and a few Navajo and Hopi Indians held out in the south west of the Grand Canyon to.

The 'Nihilistic' Doomsday cult in Laughlin
60 or so desperate people, survivalists and radical Christen priests destroyed liquor stores, killed some known Mormons and bullied Japanese-Americansin late 1964, believing that god was punishing them for allowing these things. The public in general attacked the cult's members, who they fled to Mexico in mid 1967.

Early History


Las Vegas, Area 51 and Nellis AFB were avoided by most. However, some scavengers travelled to the area and most of them died of radiation poisoning. Many of ruined cities had some survivors in them. When the workers and refugees came out of the Dam, they were shocked to find much of the surrounding area unharmed. They began working on planting food along the Colorado River. Geiger Counters reported little to no radiation near the Hoover Dam. A major earthquake struck the ruins of Las Vegas, Phoenix and Santa Monica, which caused an even greater short term crisis in the region in early 1965.

In the face of the growing chrisiss an add-hock joint government was officially established in Boulder City, Yma (Arizona), Primm, Prescott (Arizona), Laughlin (Nevada), Henderson (Nevada), Parker (Arizona), Blythe (California), Flagstaff and the Hoover Dam by mid-1964, with the goal of firther intirstion lster. The de fact leader was Boulder City cop called Jamie Pfister and his deputy was a vet Primm police oficer, Bill Holden. Under their rule the bandits, radical Christian pastors, street gangs and local gun cults were quickly suppressed in these cities, but not elsewhere. Harvesting coal, wood and old bushes was a fule nesesity. Wood, adobe, stones and mud bricks were used for early re-housing jobs.

However, survivors from Boulder City, Laughlin and Primm were the most prominent. The 3 citties had a bitter rivalry. In 1969, the two went to war (in which 16 people died), until 1972. Primm, Laughlin (Nevada), and Boulder City were combined under the peace treaty ans the Nevada Alliance. The city states of Yma (Arizona), Parker (Arizona), Blythe (California), Primm, Henderson (Nevada), Prescott (Arizona), Flagstaff, Tuscon, St. George (Utah) and the Hoover Dam,, Pahrump, Ft. Mohave and Ajo joined in the fledgling union in 1975. They absorbed more territory until 1976, when they declared themselves to be a unified nation called the ‘Mojave Republic’. The nation was named after the Mojave Desert, the region most of the growing nation is located in.

Phoenix was peaceably assimilated in May 1967. The Mormon and evangelical radical Christians briefly rioted, but the remaining locals soon put an end to it.

Due to reduced Colorado River water usage, some arid regions of the watershed, such as the Wyoming’s upper Green River valley in, the Canyonlands National Park, Tucson and the San Pedro River valley in both Arizona and Sonora saw the limited regrowth extensive reaches of grassland and steppe lands by 1970, helpig local agriculture. Regardless of the emerging farming economy, the Republic declined steadly until 1975. Farming would improve after the mid 1970's leading to the end of martial law and food rationing in late 1975.

The out-of-bounds Atlas Uranium Mill and the Moab Tailings pond has begun to leak radioactive sludge since 1976.

The riverside communes of Needles, Winterhaven, and Vidal, California joined the growing state in 1977.

The Mojave Republic expanded mostly around Vegas and down the Colorado River. Looting Vegas became a crime, punishable by hainging. However, this did not discourage many scavengers. In 1979, the republic’s government declared small parts of Vegas to be safe to visit for longer periods of time. The Vegas Strip and the northern section was still out-of-bounds and radioactive, but the outskirts became a popular looting place.

The Mormon War
A brief war, in wich 12 died, occurred in 1982 between avanced units of the advanceing Utah-Idaho Republic and the recently expanded Mojave Republic over the ownership of Moab. Utah-Idaho gave up the town, but claimed the disputed hinterland to the north. A small southern portion went to New Mexico-Colorado.

Fist Contact
The nations of Spokane, New Mexico-Colorado and Utah-Idaho were discovered in 1972, Mississippi was found in 1978 and the Confederation of Greater Carolina was discovered by chance in 1989.

Better fortunes
The 1970's saw the people wanting to explore and find people to trade with. While some explorers headed into north in to Salt Lake City and Utah’s new coal mines or west to Colorado and New Mexico, others went to salvage things from southern California.

The ruins of Nellis Air Force Base was briefly re-claimed in 1984 as well, with the few surviving guns and bunkers becoming the centre of the Mojave Military.

On January 12th, 1985, the Nevada Alliance had become too large for its government. The capitals were swapped every 4 years between the 3 cities. They decided to adopt the U.S.'s former constitution and government type. The capital was moved to the Hoover Dam. However, the dam was just, to be used as the capital’s temporary government building, until a better capital could be found.

Over the years the nation fell into a heavy fiscal debt over imports of Mexican food, fuel and machinery imports. This lasted until 1985, when Arnold Bennett assumed office of the President and led the nation in the right direction. In fact, by the end of his 4 year term, the nation had a huge surplus based on silver mining. Susan Valentine would continue his good work and create an even greater economic boom in the onion and sweet potato industry.

Calimesa’s people were found in a village in the west of Riverside, during 1986, but their home town was deserted and derelict. The local coyotes and eagles had long died of radiation sickness.

In 1994, the country was divided into 7 states, due to its increasing size and population.

The area around the dam was named Hooverhire. The nation continued to expand to the north and the north and east. By early 1995 most of southern Nevada and parts of central Arizona and southern California became the Mojave Republic’s territory.

Conflict with Mexico
It was mostly around San Luis Río Colorado, in Mexico. The 6 month conflict started in mid-1996 over the growing American community in San Luis Río Colorado and Mexican immigration in to the Colorado River Republic. 20 CRR and 12 Mexicans died in the conflict and Mexico gave a minimal amount of American settled border land and the north of San Luis Río Colorado up to end the unnecessary bloodshed. The restrictions on Mexican immigration in to the CRR was also lifted due to labour shortages. Ethic rioting occurred for a while before and after the conflict.

Race riots
Anti-Hispanic riots and looting broke out in many southern areas of the nation during late 1996, killing 17 people and having another 60 arrested.

The mission to the ruins of Las Vegas
As people from other further up river in the Grand Canyon communities, Utah and Colorado travelled to the Hoover Dam and Bolder City over the years, interest in exploration and reclaiming history mounted. In 1992, an expedition to Vegas brought back playing cards, poker chips, coins, a few licence plates, and posters from casinos. Subsequent expeditions in 1995 and 1996 brought back bigger things, like a slot machine, 6 tables from casinos and even a small safe full of gold bars.

The southern Utah and Grand Canyon communities would be peacefully assimilated between 1994 and 1997.

The mission to the ruins of Santa Monica
The city was found to be derelict and in during 1998. The remaining few people were evacuated.

The mission to the ruins of San Diego
The mission resulted in the reclaiming of several small artefacts, like watches and coins, from the ruins of San Diego, which was officially quaternary to 2010.

The mission to the ruins of Hollywood
As the loot from the south California region became grander, the missions became riskier. These missions resulted in the eventual reclaiming of several small props from the ruins of Hollywood, which was officially quaternary to 2010. Several of the explorers later died of cancer.

A new name
The country was renamed the ‘Colorado River Republic’ on January the 8th, 1997, to sound more inclusive to the recently annexed parts of Utah and southern California.

Present day
Tucson and the far south of Las Vegas have been steady redeveloped, with Mexican help, between 1999 and 2002.

White nose syndrome is a poorly understood illness associated with the deaths of hundreds of bats and was found in several bat colonies in the Grand Canyon during 2006.

After 12 years of heated debate gay and lesbian marriage was legalised on May 1st, 2007.

The fist 3 couples were


 * Kabelo Montsho
 * Kagiso Morama


 * Amantle Pilar Kilego
 * Stella Maria Lewis


 * Alberto Mario Juantorena
 * Steve Lee Lewis

Gun laws and immigration from Mexico are also hot topics.

New Vegas town (poulation: 2,500 (2012)) was built between 2007 and 2012. By 2010, all of the Mojave Desert was annexed, plus most of the Colorado River. The land north east of the Grand Canyon is currently being annexed by the nation.