Owanjila Dam Mystery

Myth

**Owanjila Dam** is a river dam in *Red Dead Redemption 2*, in the Big Valley region of the West Elizabeth territory.

The dam rests on Owanjila's southeast waterway, connected to the Upper Montana River.

## Mystery

The Upper Montana River begins in the Big Valley region of the map west of Strawberry, in the Owanjila Dam area, before flowing south past the Tall Trees region. The river then curves to the east and forms the border between Great Plains and Big Valley, later Hawks Eye Creek empties into the river from the north, south of Riggs Station, the river travels a short distance further before emptying at Flat Iron Lake. Lake located slightly north of Blackwater.

Due to the presence of the Owanjila Dam at the northern end of the river, the river and its immediate surroundings are very different between 1899 and 1911. The river was calmer, flatter and shallower compared to its later form, where strong rapids They flow in the river and it is noticeably deeper. Another difference is that in 1899 the river can be crossed and the geography of the area was friendlier than in 1911, where most of its northern face is surrounded by high cliffs and steep ridges. However, in theory, the dam does not exist in *Red Dead Redemption*, released in 2010, as the developers had not yet planned a second game, but it is plausible that Rockstar anticipated the success of the franchise, leading them to the conclusion that they might need some concepts already established if they wanted to take the franchise elsewhere in time.

In 1911, if the player visits the Blackwater Police Station, there will be three newspapers hanging on the north wall of the building to the left of the entrance, one of them has a subtitle that reads the following: **"FLOOD WARNINGS IN LOWLANDS"** (see video).

Then in a news article for *The New Hanover Gazette No. 27*, the following passage contains updates on the blizzard of May 1899 that the Van der Linde gang encounters during their escape from the Blackwater ferry job:

*"A series of late spring snowstorms rendered the Grizzlies impassable in May, catching many unprepared, having used most of their winter provisions. The snow, often measuring feet in many areas, is unusual this late in the season. Reports from riders who have recently encountered the area say that respite is finally in sight.*

***The snowmelt is coming quickly with the seasonable warmth, which worries many that rivers downstream will swell and burst their banks, as happened in the late spring snowstorms of '83.** Planting season is also reportedly delayed, as many areas are too muddy for work animals to work a plow."*

It seems the state of West Elizabeth (and New Hanover) has had its fair share of terrible storms in the past. If a blizzard was the result of a flood in 1883, then I am of the opinion that a blizzard or rain storm could have caused the dam to collapse or open sometime between 1907 and 1910.

Based on the events of the first game, the water level is much higher to the point where it doesn't seem possible to pass through. The dam may have been damaged, opened, or left in disrepair. However, the dam remains closed throughout the prequel, which takes place between May-August 1899 and April-July 1907 (summer in both periods). As it is the only functioning artificial dam present in the franchise, I have to assume that it has a reason within the lore to exist from "the canonical point of view".

Furthermore, as an addendum to the theory in question, a 1907 newspaper article from the *New Hanover Gazette No. 38* states that the Pacific Union Railroad Company absolved the railroad lines previously owned by the late Leviticus Cornwall - due to his assassination in 1899 - and that an expansion project for West Elizabeth has been launched and is expected to be completed within a few years. Later, in 1911, we can find numerous newspapers distributed throughout the city of Blackwater that allude to this expansion (see video). It doesn't add much to the theory itself, but it does provide a viable idea of ​​how Rockstar plants "unresolved plotlines" in its games to exploit in the future.