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NOTE: This article is about the Chernarus terrain in ArmA 2. For the country of the same name, see Chernarus.


The Chernarus terrain, more appropriately South Zagoria[1], is a playable terrain in ArmA 2.

Overview[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-satellitemap


« North-Eastern Chernarus is a hilly area with rocky coastlines; the biggest hilltops reach over 700 m above sea level, covered by temperate forests. The environment is still relatively untouched from logging and mining. The biggest cities and industry are concentrated on the southern coast. There are mostly smaller villages inland, situated in deep valleys, hidden in forested ridges or on elevated plateaus with lush meadows.
Official ArmA 2 website
»


Representing the South Zagoria region of the Green Sea nation of Chernarus, this area of the country is dynamic and rich in history.

From inland coniferous/mixed forests intermeshed with jagged rock formations, to built-up cities all along the coast, untouched wild nature and idyllic countryside pastures clash together to form a truly diverse, Eastern European-themed landscape.[2][3]

Geography[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-overview

South Zagoria's landscape typically consists of sprawling farms, industrial factories, and thick forests

Covering an area of 225 square kilometres, South Zagoria is a highland terrain with a rocky coastline.[4]

Much of the uninhabited areas are covered by temperate forests which occupy almost 100 square kilometres of the land. Dubbed as "Black forests" by locals due to their secluded nature, they are particularly thick in depth compared to other woodlands in the country.[3]

Rock formations similarly litter the region, with many of the smaller mounds having formed into steep mountain crests. The tallest of these can tower over the landscape at a height of 700 metres above sea level. The northern border with the Russian Federation, likewise, features the Black Mountains ridge that separates the Chernarussian nation with its neighbour.[2]

Numerous lakes and smaller ponds dot the forests as well, with two dams being built at Topolka in the south and Pobeda in the north.[5] The unique moors on the table-side south of Dičina, are also notable for containing the remains of a prehistoric glacial lake dating back to the Ice Age.[3]

The island of Skalisty located just a short distance off the south-eastern shoreline near the village of Tulga, contains unique coastal flora which cannot be found anywhere else along the South Zagorian coast. During the start of the 1990s, the island was declared to be a nature preserve as part of the established Zagorie Protected Natural Area.[3]

Settlements[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-topographicmap

Topographic map of South Zagoria

The province's cities, towns, and villages are scattered both inland and along the entire South Zagorian coast.

The capital of the region is the city of Chernogorsk, with Elektrozavodsk being the second most populated city in the region after it. The two coastal cities are heavily urbanised and consist of seaports, factories, and apartment blocks intertwined with brick/timber homes.[5][6]

Most of the villages are remote settlements located deep within the heart of its forests. A significant majority are only linked by bumpy dirt roads and tracks that climb up extremely steep hills and may often be separated by tens of kilometres worth of woodland away from the nearest population centre.

Cities along the southern coast are connected via a main highway and railroad track. Both originate from the village of Kamenka in the south-west before terminating at the town of Berezino in the north-east.

Settlements on Chernarus
Cities ChernogorskElektrozavodsk
Towns BerezinoGorkaKamyshovoKrasnostavNadezhdinoNovy SoborOrlovetsPolanaSolnichniyStaroyeStary SoborVyborZelenogorsk
Villages BalotaBorDolinaDrozhinoDubrovkaGrishinoGuglovoGvozdnoKabaninoKamenkaKhelmKomarovoKozlovkaLopatinoMogilevkaMstaMyshkinoNizhnoyeOlshaPavlovoPetrovkaPogorevkaPrigorodkiPulkovoPustaPustoshkaRogovoShakhovkaSosnovkaTulgaVyshnoye
Military installations FOB ManhattanFOB ReforgerKrasnostav airstripVybor airportZelenogorsk forward outpost

Points of interest[]

Devil's Castle[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-24

Located at the peak of the mountain north of the village of Grishino, the Devil's Castle was built sometime at the beginning of the early 13th century and was previously known as the Kozlovo Castle.[7]

This castle ruin received its namesake after the fall of Kozlov's Principate. Originally founded by a Duke by the name of Ivan Kozlov, the fortress largely came apart thanks to scavengers that took apart the structure stone by stone; using it to either construct their own estates in the surrounding forests or for different purposes.[7]

It was then supposedly inhabited by a yeoman named Jakub Čert (the "Devil") from the town of Gorka. He was particularly notorious for being the leader of a bandit group that used the site as a base of operations. What was once a small keep would eventually be expanded into a castle, using the loot stolen by raiding settlements throughout the region. According to legend, the Devil's Castle was burned down during the Zagorian Karzeg's rebellion, with Jakub Čert himself burning to death in the castle's main tower by refusing to surrender to the Karzegi warlord Ataman Simurg. Only the scorched walls of the castle remain. To this day, the ruins are also rumoured to be haunted by the spirit of the Ivan Kozlov.[7]

Whatever the truth is, the Devil's Castle is one of the most remarkable architectural sights in Chernarus and has become a popular tourist destination as a result.[7]

Rog Castle[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-25

The ruins of the castle Rog situated north of the Kamyshovo coastal village serves as a link to Chernarus' distant past. Along with the Devil's Castle in the region's north-west, Rog is a particularly popular tourist attraction due to its rich cultural history.[7]

Built by the Dukes of the Kozlov Principate in the late 11th and early 12th century, Rog was constructed to serve as a warning outpost for nearby locals against pirate raids from the sea. Rog's castle is mostly constructed out of stone rather than timber (as most other fortresses in the region were built with) and as such, it is one of the few outposts that remain standing to this day; albeit in an understandably dilapidated state.[2][7]

Skalisty Island[]

Arma2-terrain-chernarus-26

Located just a short distance off the south-eastern coast of South Zagoria, Skalisty Island was designated as a nature preserve in the 1990s to be a part of the government's Zagorie Protected Natural Area zone. It is home to coastal flora and fauna which cannot be found anywhere else along the coast of South Zagoria due in large part to the region's past industrialisation/urbanisation.[3][6]

During the civil war, the notorious leader of the ChDKZ insurgency was also rumoured to have set up a communications outpost in the heart of the island's forest.[8]

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • Chernarus' terrain location as a coastal nation is completely fictional, but the landmass itself is accurately replicated via geographical data of the land between the cities of Ústí nad Labem and Podmokly in the Czech Republic (Czechia).[1][9][10]
  • Contrary to popular belief, the Chernarus terrain does not represent the entirety of the Chernarussian nation as its naming would imply. The in-game terrain only shows less than a third of the actual country, specifically the northeastern region.
  • A modified version of the terrain (called "Chernarus+") would later be ported to Bohemia Interactive's DayZ. It features slight differences with its predecessor in ArmA 2 but retains most of its iconic locations.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Rok_bi_wiki et al. 2009, Chernarus, Bohemia Interactive Community Wiki, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Chernarus>.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Chernarus, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus/chernarus>.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Nature, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus/nature>.
  4. Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Chernarus, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus>.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Industrial areas, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus/industrial-areas>.
  6. 6.0 6.1 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Inhabited areas, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus/inhabited-areas>.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Old sights, Arma 2, viewed 7 February 2024, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-chernarus/old-sights>.
  8. ARMA 2 2009 [Video Game], Bohemia Interactive a.s., Operation Harvest Red, Dogs of War, "SHAFTOE: Be advised marines, task force is now setting up a base in Chernogorsk harbor. I suggest you get your sorry butt here ASAP. Someone's got to assume command, over. On the way in the Khe Sahn picked up some radio transmissions from Skalisty island near Kamyshovo, they sound like high priority Chedaki comms. I'm assigning Force Recon Team Claymore to check it out and I want you to go with them. Lead up the op. COOPER: Copy that sir. The sooner we get out of here the better. Razor out."
  9. Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2007, 'ARMA 2 Expectations', Developer's Blog, 1 October, viewed 10 February 2024, <https://www.bohemia.net/blog/arma-2-expectations>.
  10. Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2007, 'Landscape Almost Real', Developer's Blog, 20 September, viewed 10 February 2024, <https://www.bohemia.net/blog/landscape-almost-real>.

External links[]

See also[]

Playable terrains in ArmA 2
BukovinaBystricaChernarusDesertProving GroundsShapurTakistanUtesZargabad
Operation Arrowhead | British Armed Forces | Private Military Company | Army of the Czech Republic
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